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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27353677">Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kai_zero/pseuds/Kai_zero'>Kai_zero</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Multi, Worldbuilding</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 02:08:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>170,477</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27353677</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kai_zero/pseuds/Kai_zero</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone knows the story, the Potters attacked and little Harry left with his relatives. But what happens when the last Potter stumbles upon something left behind? What does someone with no preconceived notions about Magic do when they find out that it's real? Do they follow along just like everyone else? Or do they find their own path? Harry Potter did always like to make things!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Fleur Delacour/Harry Potter, Harry Potter/Nymphadora Tonks, Penelope Clearwater/Harry Potter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>106</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>554</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Life with Relatives, Discovering Magic</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Hello friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with the first chapter of my new Harry Potter story! This story has two major divergences from canon in regards to Magic. Firstly to any Wizard/Witch or whatever other title they go by; Sorcerer, Warlock, Sage, Mystic, Shaman, Mage, etc. Magic can behave in one of two ways depending on how the Magical was taught. Either it can be free and unrefined or it can be ordered, structured and controlled. Both methods have their benefits and disadvantages. Secondly Magic isn’t locked into either of these two states. If a Magical wants to learn both they simply have to let go of their preconceived notions about Magic. Harry in this story will end up learning magic in a new way, at least new in the eyes of the vast majority of Magical people, only a very small percentage of other Magicals will know and use this method that Harry stumbles upon by accident.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>One other Big Deviation from canon, Harry Isn’t a Horcrux in this story! There was no ‘Accidental Soul Magic/Horcrux Making’ the night Voldemort attacked the Potters though Harry does have a faint scar in the same shape as canon. But after all these years it has faded substantially.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Chapter 1 – Life with Relatives, Discovering Magic</strong>
</p><p>Harry Potter, age eight, lived at Number Four Privet Drive with his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and Cousin Dudley. The Dursleys are his only living relatives and Harry had ended up living with them after his parent’s deaths. All Harry knew about his parents passing was that a family friend had gotten them killed. Supposedly Harry had a Godfather that had hunted down the family friend and brought him to the police, but was severely injured in the process. If his supposed Godfather ever awoke from his coma Harry would be given the chance to live with him. But it had been seven years and the supposed Godfather still hadn’t shown up.</p><p>The Dursleys were a normal family and proud of it. They took Harry in fed and clothed him and sent him to school, all perfectly normal things for a family to do when taking in an orphaned family member. Vernon worked at a company called Grunning’s that made drills and supplied them to large construction firms in bulk. Petunia was a stay at home mother and looked after Dudley and Harry. All in all a completely normal family, Vernon had recently renovated the attic for use as Harry’s new bedroom. The small second bedroom on the second floor was better to keep for guests. Vernon had been advised that the resale value of the home would increase with a fully finished attic bedroom by a colleague at work. If the smile on the large man’s face after the appraisers left was any indication his colleague had been correct.</p><p>So now Harry was situated in his new bedroom with all his things neatly put away. If Harry had anything he liked better about his new bedroom it would be the increased space and the larger window that overlooked the backyard. He looked forward to being able to see the stars at night. Harry was a fairly perceptive boy, especially for his age, so he’d noticed over the years that while his Aunt and Uncle took care of him they still kept him at arm’s length emotionally. They never got very attached to him and he sometimes caught them looking at him if something odd happened for no apparent reason. But Harry couldn’t really complain about his life much. He was fed, clothed, educated and left to play when his chores were done.</p><p>“Harry, we’re going to have to store a few of the old boxes back up here again. There isn’t room in the garage for the car with all the boxes in it.” Vernon informed his nephew as he carried up a cardboard box with the words ‘School Things’ written on the side in marker.</p><p>“Ok, Uncle Vernon. Do you need help?” Harry asked politely.</p><p>“If you’d bring up some of the small boxes that would be brilliant.” Vernon nodded as he placed the ‘School Things’ box in the furthest corner of the attic bedroom.</p><p>“Alright.” Harry replied as he made his way down the short staircase that Vernon had replaced the old trapdoor with. The brand new wooden door that separated Harry’s room was at the top of these stairs and it made accessing the new room much easier. It was only about twenty minutes later that the furthest corner of Harry’s new room had about a dozen cardboard boxes stacked against it as well as eight shoeboxes filled with bits and bobs Vernon and Petunia had collected over the years.</p><p>“Well dinner won’t be ready for another two hours, wonder what’s in some of these?” Harry wondered aloud as he approached the cardboard boxes. Going through a few of them revealed ordinary things, a few holiday decorations, some extra winter clothes, old baby toys from when he and Dudley had been toddlers. It was only when Harry looked into the first box Vernon had brought up, the ‘School Things’ box, that he found something interesting. Old leather bound books, quills and inkwells, a strange type of heavy paper he thought might be called parchment, and most curiously a notebook that had the word ‘Notes’ written on it with a name under it. The name is what was truly odd to Harry, ‘Lily Evans’ was his mother’s name before she got married according to Aunt Petunia. But the sisters had grown apart after they went to different Secondary Schools. As far as he was aware neither sister had kept the things of the other. Unknown to anybody at the moment there was a box nearly identical to the one Harry was browsing through sitting in the Potter Family Vault in Gringotts. It was filled with Petunia’s old Secondary School textbooks and other school supplies.</p><p>Eager for a chance to know more about his mother, Harry cracked open the notebook and started to read. Harry had a high reading level, one of the best in his class, and was able to understand most of the words. Though several of them sounded like gibberish. But for the next hour Harry read his mother’s old school notes and learned that Magic was real. Harry came across terms he didn’t understand; Runes, Arithmancy, Occlumency, Potions, Charms, Transfiguration all marked with their own place in the notebook. Looking back into the box Harry found that these unknown terms had matching textbooks. With a strange sort of giddiness at possibly learning from his mother, even if only indirectly, Harry packed the books back up and headed down for dinner. Just as he descended the short staircase onto the second floor Petunia called for Harry and Dudley to come down for dinner. The evening meal was filled with chatter between the three Dursleys with occasional input from Harry.</p><p>“So, Harry, did you enjoy the day camp this summer?” Vernon asked his nephew. Vernon had paid just under three hundred pound sterling to send Harry to a summer day camp for two weeks near the end of July. Harry had actually celebrated his Birthday only two days after the camp ended.</p><p>“Yes, Uncle Vernon, it was fun.” Harry replied getting a short nod from Vernon.</p><p>“Good, glad they kept you interested, shows they’re doing their job right.” Vernon commented. The main reason Vernon had paid for such a camp, besides it being relatively cheap for two weeks of day camp, was because it was a camp that taught old craftsmen skills and focused on helping children become independent and confident. Harry had always been a little closed off from the other kids his age, somewhere between shy and too far ahead of his peers intellectually. This camp was supposed to help kids break out of their shells by teaching groups of children a new skill or craft together. They offered things like needlework, wood carving, the basics of blacksmithing, and even pottery making. Harry had shown prodigious talent in his Arts class in school so Vernon had signed him up for the camp. The boy hadn’t been anymore talkative but it gave him somewhere to go for the day for at least two weeks of the summer. Harry had at least enjoyed himself and had tried his hand at practically everything offered, even the needlework course which was considered ‘girly’ by the other boys his age. Harry had thought learning how to stitch and sew hand been fun.</p><p>After dinner Harry went back up to his room and continued from where he had left off in his mother’s notes. Deciding to pick up the first book mentioned in his mother’s notes, ‘Magical Theory’ by Adalbert Waffling, Harry set to reading about Magic. He stayed up late that night reading, only stumbling over completely unfamiliar terms and resolving to look up in the dictionary as many of the words that he didn’t recognize as he could.</p><p>It was the week before Harry and Dudley returned to Primary School when Harry started practicing what was called Occlumency. While Harry didn’t think he’d ever met a Wizard or Witch, except maybe that one guy in the top hat who’d given him a bow at the store, the thought that someone could read his mind was scary. So he’d set about trying to practice and learn this Occlumency. The first step involved meditation, a word Harry had needed to look up, so he sat on his bed in the attic and tried to focus on his breathing. After failing the first night and the second, Harry finally felt like he had managed to get his head clear for at least a minute or two on the third night. These nightly meditation attempts bore fruit in late November when Harry finally found himself able to slip into what the book called a meditative state. After continuing to practice throughout the remainder of the year Harry took his first leap into learning Magic when one night he found himself imagining a void of dull light filled with small orbs of slightly brighter light.</p><p>‘This is weird.’ Harry thought as he observed the orbs, each no bigger than a ping pong ball, as they drifted through this space. ‘I thought I wasn’t supposed to think of anything?’ The boy wondered to himself before blinking and finding himself sitting on his bed again.</p><p>“What in the world?” Harry questioned himself as he tried to make heads or tails of what had just happened. The next night’s session brought him back to the dull void and its numerous floating orbs again. Harry watched on and observed to try and figure out what this place was. He took note that some of the orbs where a blueish-white while the others where a purplish-black. He tried to count them and lost track when they kept moving around. He eventually was able to get a count of one small area and counted thirty two orbs, with about seventeen blue-white ones and fifteen purple-black ones. Just before he opened his eyes in his bed again Harry noticed one of the blue-white orbs and one of the purple-black orbs colliding and becoming a single orb of silvery-grey.</p><p>These nightly sessions continued through the rest of winter. Harry would find himself in the dull void and watch the orbs. He’d discovered that the orbs would sometimes collide and form a silvery-grey orb for a good length of time. Though Harry noticed that time may be a bit off considering he never knew how long he was in the dull void. Eventually Harry couldn’t hold back his curiosity and touched one of the blue-white orbs. It didn’t have a real feeling was the only way to describe it, sort of like trying to hold a breeze. He could move the orb in whatever direction he wanted but other than that he couldn’t interact with it. Next he touched a purple-black orb and the feeling was similar, only this one felt like trying to stop a chill in the air with your hands. No substance just a coolness that was there and then gone. Harry’s eyes snapped open in his bed again and he flopped back as he tried to sleep his mind buzzing with curiosity.</p><p>It was April when Harry made his next break through with the orbs in the dull void. He’d had the idea to try and push the orbs together. He soon found out that orbs of the same color didn’t merge with each other. But after pushing a white-blue orb and a purple-black orb together to form a silvery-grey orb he’d gotten curious. Making a second silvery-grey orb he’d tried pushing the two together and found himself with a larger silvery-grey orb. Harry watched on for a while, the larger silvery-grey orb took some time to finally separate back into two blue-white and two purple-black orbs. Almost twice as long as a single silvery-grey orb. Blinking open his eyes Harry went back into his mother’s notes and books trying to learn as much as he could about Magic to see if he could find out what the dull void and the orbs were.</p><p>Harry actually found himself happy that he and his mother shared an opinion. In ‘Magical Theory’ it was purported that magic was only able to be truly controlled with a focus, like a wand. But the book also mentioned Accidental Magic; magical things happening when a child had an outburst of emotion, making his mother wonder what the difference was in her own notes. Wandless Magic was briefly described as possible by powerful Wizards and Witches, but his mother had wondered what the difference between Wandless Magic and Accidental Magic was besides the obvious direct control of Wandless Magic. Harry found himself agreeing with his mother’s thoughts that Accidental Magic was just Wandless Magic without the intent and control. Meaning a focus wasn’t strictly necessary to perform Magic.</p><p>Harry continued to experiment with the orbs in the dull void. It had become obvious that no mention of the place existed in his mother’s books so he’d resolved to figure out what he could himself. It was the first day of summer vacation when Harry put his most ambitious experiment into motion. When he became aware of being in the dull void again he started pairing up the blue-white and purple-black orbs into silvery-grey orbs. Then he counted the silvery-grey orbs as he paired them up and merged them together. He’d discovered that a large silvery-grey orb wouldn’t merge with a single silvery-grey orb, only with a silvery-grey of equal size. All told Harry had counted one hundred twenty eight silvery-grey orbs, meaning the original number of blue-white orbs and purple-black orbs had to have been two hundred fifty six evenly divided between the two colors. Harry merged each of the silvery-grey orbs together taking them from one hundred twenty eight to sixty four on the first pairing. From there it was simply halving the number each time, sixty four became thirty two. Thirty two became sixteen. Sixteen became eight. Eight became four. Four became two. Finally two became one. When the merging was finished Harry had a silvery-grey orb about a meter in diameter. Harry smiled at making the large silvery-grey orb before the large orb pulsed and Harry snapped his eyes open in his bed. Harry immediately felt the most exhausted he’d ever been and only briefly glanced at his bedside clock before collapsing asleep.</p><p>Harry groaned as he woke up and felt slightly off. Looking around he spotted his bedside clock and noticed it had been around an hour and forty minutes since he’d fallen asleep. Looking himself over Harry felt as if something had changed about him. Almost as if he felt lighter? Maybe stronger? Whatever it was it hadn’t done much for Harry’s exhaustion and the boy quickly removed his glasses and fell back to sleep.</p><p>“Harry, are you feeling alright?” Aunt Petunia asked as she knocked on Harry’s bedroom door the next morning. Getting no response from her nephew Petunia opened the door and found her nephew still asleep. Walking over to the bed she placed her palm on Harry’s forehead to check his temperature. Feeling no sign of fever Petunia shook the boy awake.</p><p>“Huh? Oh! Good morning Aunt Petunia.” Harry mumbled as he woke up and reached for his glasses.</p><p>“Good morning. I know that its summer break but that doesn’t mean you can sleep in all morning. It’s already past normal breakfast time.” Petunia admonished him as she turned to walk out of the room. Looking over at his bedside clock Harry was surprised to find that he’d slept in for more than an hour and a half past his usual wake up time.</p><p>“Sorry Aunt Petunia, I’m getting up.” Harry apologized as he pushed his covers back.</p><p>“Breakfast his still on the table, it’ll be a little cold now but you should still eat it all.” Petunia instructed as she left the room. Harry quickly followed and went to eat his breakfast.</p><p>Harry spent the next night diving into the dull void again. Finding his large silvery-grey orb again Harry was surprised that not only was it still together but that it had what appeared to be branches coming from it and disappearing out into the void. Inspecting the branches brought the same feeling as touching a silvery-grey orb, a sense of rightness and stability that couldn’t be emulated by any object that Harry knew of. Deciding to try and experiment a bit with this new situation Harry set about trying to make the orb and branches react. He found that small spots of light travelled from the orb and through the branches from time to time. With a bit of thought Harry realized that he could make these lights travel from the orb and through whichever branch he desired. After playing with this new discovery for a while and not being able to do anything else with the orb or branches Harry blinked and was sitting in his bed again. With a sigh he took off his glasses and went to sleep.</p><p>Waking up again the next morning Harry put on his glasses and headed down to breakfast. Uncle Vernon had asked him about attending the same day camp again this summer to which Harry agreed. He’d learned the bare basics of the skills and crafts the camp offered last year. This year he hoped to build on his knowledge a bit more. When Harry finished his chores for the day he’d retreated to his room to read more of his mother’s books on Magic. With her notes he slowly understood the basics of Magic and was hopeful to find a way to practice some of the things described in the books. Seeing the book he’d left off with the night before Harry walked towards it and raised his hand to pick it up. The book suddenly jumped from its place on top of the ‘School Things’ box and into Harry’s outstretched hand. Startled by the sudden movement Harry dropped the book and stumbled back a few steps. After a moment to calm down Harry walked over and picked up the book. Not seeing anything different about it than normal he realized that he might have just performed Accidental Magic. With a smile Harry placed the book on top of his bed and walked several steps away. Holding out his hand Harry tried to make the book come to him again. The results weren’t promising. The book stubbornly refused to move no matter which hand Harry held out or how much he mentally demanded the book to move.</p><p>Harry’s practice with his Accidental Magic didn’t make much progress before he went off to the day camp again. Over the course of the two weeks Harry learned more of the skills he’d enjoyed last year. Pottery was fun but took a while to get right. Needlework was neat as they were learning how to knit and would be finishing up a scarf or a knitted cap, camper’s choice, before the end of the camp. Carving was more challenging as you couldn’t simply erase a mistake, you either had to work with it, around it, or start over. But learning how to etch their names into small planks of wood was fun. Blacksmithing was something they could only watch. Harry didn’t mind as he was fascinated by the way the blacksmith heated and shaped metal. Watching the creation of even simple items like hinges or hooks was impressive to the young boy. Soon enough the camp was over for the summer and Harry was back to trying to practice Magic for the remainder of the summer break.</p><p>‘Why won’t the stupid book move?!’ Harry pouted mentally as he still couldn’t get the book to come to his hand like he’d done before. ‘I just want it in my hand, why is that so hard?’ The boy questioned only to feel the book smack into his hand that was hanging by his side. “Ow!” Harry groaned. “Why did it do it this time?” he questioned as he rubbed his hand. Quickly picking up the book and tossing it back onto the bed Harry tried to figure out how he’d made the book move. After mulling it over Harry felt like he might have an answer. “If this works I’ve been overlooking the obvious.” The nine year old muttered as he raised his hand and thought of the action he wanted to happen. ‘I want the book in my hand.’ With barely suppressed glee Harry caught the book as it flew towards his hand. With a quiet cheer, so as not to disturb Aunt Petunia downstairs, Harry celebrated his discovery. ‘I have to think of the action I want to happen! Not about the book itself!’ He mentally crowed in delight as he tossed the book back onto the bed and pulled it back to his hand again. With muted laughter Harry spent the next hour pulling objects around his room towards him with his magic.</p><p>Over the next month Harry practiced with his newly learned Magical Skill. After the first three days of bringing stuff towards himself he’d tried doing the opposite. The initial result had been Harry’s pillow smacking into the wall on the opposite side of the room. But with a month of practice now under his belt Harry could even move things from one place to another around his room. Levitation was the word Harry had found in the dictionary that matched closely with what he was doing. So he’d dubbed his first bit of Magic as Levitation. He’d been slightly embarrassed to find mention of a Levitation Charm among the Charms textbook and realize that such simple Magic had, of course, been discovered long ago. But at least he could do his without a wand! He wasn’t pouting!</p><p>Harry continued to practice with his magic throughout the rest of the school year. He’d even started checking out fantasy books from the school library for ideas. Any idea he wanted to try and replicate he’d first browse through his mother’s Charms textbook for, to see if an equivalent spell existed. That was how Harry learned to summon fire. Of course he only practiced this outside in the woods behind Privet Drive. But with practice Harry could not only summon floating orbs of fire but even hold a fireball in his hand. That discovery had brought about a level of excitement that had Harry recreating scenes from the fantasy books he read. Tossing a fireball around was truly quintessential for a wizard! Harry was absolutely sure of this fact!</p><p>It wasn’t until the summer that Harry had felt like he had made progress on his original goal of Occlumency. Now when he dived into the dull void, which he had finally realized was a magical representation of his mind, he noticed that the branches coming from the silvery-grey orb had actually encircled the area he always appeared in. Trying to see from the other side had been difficult but after almost nine months of practice Harry had been able to get a glimpse of the outside. What he guessed to be his mind was now encircled by hundreds of branches and their offshoots. His mind was apparently enclosed in what amounted to large thorny brambles. If brambles were as unrelenting as steel and made of pure magic. During this brief glimpse he also noted that almost a dozen large branches still reached out into the void. His only guess was that these branches connected his magic directly to his body. It could explain his sudden control over Magic when he didn’t have a wand and no instruction in Wandless Magic.</p><p>One summer evening Harry had been looking through his mother’s Charms text book again when he noted the mention of the most basic Charm that Hogwarts, the school of Magic his mother attended, taught to First Year students. The Lumos Charm was something so simple and easy that most students learned it in their very first Charms class. Harry liked the idea of being able to produce light on demand without the risk of burning anything like when he summoned fire. So he’d set about trying to figure it out. It had taken him less than an hour to figure out how to replicate the spell. All the Lumos Charm really was at its core was Magic being shifted into the visible light spectrum. That was a term Harry had learned in Science class the past school year and to find out that it could be applied to Magic opened up a whole new set of questions and curiosities for the boy. So Harry spent the better part of the evening playing with the Lumos Charm, making it brighter or dimmer and even changing the color of the light emitted. Incidentally the changing of the color was actually the hardest part. The white light of the Lumos Charm was apparently the easiest color for Magic to take when it entered the visible spectrum. Adding in the intent of specific colors had been difficult at first but it wasn’t as hard when Harry imagined the colors as a sliding scale. Slide the Magic down the scale and the light turned darker colors, slide Magic up the scale and you got brighter colors. Harry had made his own light show by the time he’d turned in for bed.</p><p>It was once again July and Harry was happy to be sent to the day camp again, two more weeks of learning crafts and skills. At almost ten years old he was now allowed to help the blacksmith by working the bellows. Seeing how interested the boy was the older man had even let Harry swing the hammer a few times to get a feel for the task. Harry couldn’t describe the rightness he felt when he got to strike the red hot metal. Decked out in a safety apron and face shield with thick insulated leather gloves Harry got to strike the metal until it bent into the correct hook shape. His wood carving had progressed as well, now able to actually carve simple images and etch words and sentences into wood. Needlework he was doing well in too. The ladies teaching the group, mostly consisting of girls, had commented on how well he handled the needle. Fixing up a pair of torn pants had only taken him an hour and the stitching held up even when he tugged on it. Pottery he could do well enough but it didn’t hold his interest as much as the other crafts. The instructor had chuckled when Harry had handed in a nicely formed vase and commented that he was doing his family name proud. Harry had gotten a chuckle out of the joke, after all a Potter being good at Pottery was a bit of dry humor that Harry could appreciate.</p><p>After the two weeks of day camp had ended Harry, still happy about getting to make things, decided to look into the Runes and Arithmancy books again. Both tomes had mentioned crafting Magical Items or Enchanted Objects in them and after two weeks of getting to make stuff Harry was interested in trying out this branch of Magic. The first thing Harry had figured out was that Arithmancy was Magical Math and it made normal Math seem simple and easy. While Mathematics played a large role in Arithmancy the inclusion of Magic tilted some of the calculations into having answers that would be deemed incorrect in his Math class at school. Runes was basically learning another alphabet, with each symbol having its own meaning or even multiple meanings when it was written next to other runes. There were also, according to his mother’s notes, other written languages that could be used for magical purposes. Egyptian Hieroglyphics were a form of Runes, as were the Chinese Kanji symbols used in China and Japan. India had many ancient scripts that could be used in Runes with Devanagari being common among both Magical and Non-Magical people. It seemed that any script could become capable of holding Magical Meaning if enough Magicals learned and used it over time. The length of time seemed to be roughly five hundred years or more of use before script could have Magical Meaning imprinted onto it by anyone; though his mother speculated that the amount of Magical People that used the script played a large part in determining how long before it became capable of attaining Magical significance.</p><p>Harry spent the next few months studying Arithmancy and Runes while also learning a couple extra Charms. So far he’d learned how to replicate a Lumos Charm, the Incendio Charm, the Water Charm Aguamenti, the Levitation Charm Wingardium Leviosa, and the Knockback Jinx Flipendo. For some reason when Harry performed his Wandless version of Flipendo there was no loud bang like the text described. He’d retreated to the woods behind Privet Drive to practice it expecting the noise but it never happened.</p><p>His studies into making Enchanted Objects were going about as well as could be expected. Finding out, from the Runes text, that certain materials couldn’t hold magic or that only certain materials could be used for certain effects had hindered his ideas. There were plenty of rocks Harry could use for enchanting and the forest behind Privet Drive was a wealth of at least a few different species of wood. But you couldn’t just etch a few Runes into any old rock and make a talisman, charm, or trinket. Likewise you couldn’t make a staff, scepter or wand out of any regular old branch. Arithmancy was required to figure out the best size and shape for any Enchanted Objects based on the material used to make them. Harry had used his burgeoning skills in both Runes and Arithmancy to craft a single, very simple, trinket for himself. He’d gotten the idea from one of the fantasy novels he’d read from the library at school. Harry had made a Hiding Stone, a small mostly flat stone with only four runes etched on one side, the four runes in question being from Elder Futhark; Naudiz for Need, Algiz for Protection, Mannaz for Man, and Odal for Estate and Possessions. When all four were etched correctly by a Wizard or Witch and imbued with magic it produced a trinket that made the person carrying it less noticeable. Alternatively it could be placed on another object to make the object in question less noticeable. It was easy to see through if a person wanted to find someone, but no one would notice the bearer ‘out of the corner of their eye’ as the saying went. Harry carried it around at school a few times and noticed the sharp drop in the amount of times he was called on to answer questions.</p><p>Excited by his first success, while pretending the eleven failed attempts he’d had didn’t happen, Harry sat on his bed that night to take stock of his Occlumency. Once in his magical mind representation Harry set about looking at his ‘bramble defense’ as he’d taken to calling it. The branches had grown further outwards while layering over each other to increase the protection around his mind. The branches connecting to his body were larger than the last time he’d checked them as well. Returning to the silvery-grey core he tried to take another measurement by eye. Harry roughly estimated that his silvery-grey core had doubled in size since he first made it, now sitting at almost two meters in diameter. He really wished he could accurately measure his magic, or mana as several of the fantasy books had referred to it. Harry liked the idea of calling the energy behind his spells and other magic by a name like mana. It gave him something to focus on building up besides his knowledge. Like a measure of how magically strong he was, though he still had no way to actually quantify his mana so that he could measure it aside from trying to estimate how much bigger the silvery-grey core was.</p><p>“Wait that’s it!” Harry exclaimed to himself as his eyes snapped open in his bed. If he didn’t have a way to measure his mana he could just make one! All he had to do was decide on a basic unit of measurement and count how many he had, but what to use as the basis?</p><p>“It needs to be simple and something standard that can be replicated by anyone to keep all measurements accurate.” Harry mumbled to himself as he started pacing back and forth. An idea came to the ten year old when he spotted his mother’s Charms book laying on top of the cardboard box he kept all of them in. “That would work!” He nodded to himself as he sat back down on his bed and held his hand in front of himself. With barely a thought a small ball of light appeared above his hand, Harry’s Wandless version of the Lumos Charm. “Now I just need to see how little mana can actually produce the spell.” With that Harry set about withdrawing mana from the spell. The bright light shrank and dimmed a little each time Harry reduced the mana he used to conjure it. When Harry barely felt any mana flowing to the light it suddenly went out. He tried to reach the amount just before it went out a few times before getting it right. In Harry’s hand was a small light no bigger than a pea that barely illuminated his palm.</p><p>“This is it, the smallest amount of mana that can actually make a Lumos Charm. Since the Lumos Charm is the most basic of basic spells it should be perfect to use to measure my mana.” Harry muttered to himself with a grin. ‘But how do I count it?’ he wondered to himself mentally. ‘I can only keep a few Lumos Charms going at once. But I feel like I could make a hundred of these things. I need something else than can count for me.’ Harry mulled over his problem until he went to bed that night.</p><p>Harry still hadn’t found an answer to his question by the time spring came around. He’d looked through his mother’s books and notes and tried to make as many of the pea-sized Lumos Charms as possible only to falter when he got past ten at a time. In frustration Harry turned his last hope onto the fantasy books in his school library. Over a month later he’d stumbled upon an idea in one of the fantasy books. It had a concept called spell-forging in the story that was close enough to enchanting that Harry thought it could work. Spell-forging, according to the fantasy novel, was a method to make magical objects by imbuing the item in question with magic throughout its creation. Runes were then used to add an effect and lock the item into fulfilling that singular purpose. Harry was getting excited this mundane fantasy novel might very well have solved his problem! He only needed to find something he could make from scratch that he could also carve the proper runic sequence into.</p><p>Thus Harry’s search began to find something he could make himself that was also big enough to carve or etch runes into. In a humorous twist Harry’s least favorite craft from his summer day camp turned out to be his solution. Harry stumbled onto the idea to use clay for his project when they’d started using it for Art class. With his choice made Harry had asked Uncle Vernon for some clay to play with one day. Vernon hadn’t batted an eye at the request, knowing his nephew’s propensity for arts and crafts. Harry had his clay the next weekend and set about pushing his mana into it while shaping it into a square frame. Etching the runes into it after it had partially dried was taxing as he was using a box cutter razor blade he’d ‘borrowed’ from the school janitor’s cleaning cart. The razor’s thin edge was perfect for keeping the rune lines straight but dangerous to handle without the actual plastic housing to protect his fingers. Thankfully he’d finished without cutting himself and just had to wait a few days for his square to dry.</p><p>“Alright, time to try this out.” Harry grinned as he picked up the runic clay square frame. While holding it in both hands Harry started feeding his mana into his creation. Harry was thrilled when he saw a number ‘1’ made of light appear inside the frame. He’d only given the frame enough mana to produce the pea-sized Lumos Charm and it had read the amount as one unit. That meant that his runic sequence had been correctly etched and his Arithmancy calculations were correct. With a smile Harry proceeded to push more of his mana into the clay frame. The ten year old boy watched giddily as the number continued to climb; ‘10’, ‘25’, ‘40’, ‘60’, ‘90’, ‘120’, ‘150’, ‘180’, ‘210’, ‘240’, before it came to a stop on ‘270’.</p><p>“Two hundred seventy mana, huh, I wonder if that’s a lot or not?” Harry pondered aloud before feeling his clay frame crumble apart in his hands. “What? Why? What’s going on?” He fretted as his creation broke into dozens of small pieces. As he carefully picked up the pieces from the floor he noticed on some of the larger ones that the runes etched into them looked burnt and misshapen. “Was it not able to handle the mana? It was a first attempt, I should probably be happy it worked at all. It could have been worse, at least it didn’t explode.” Harry sighed as he continued to pick up the pieces and place them in the waste bin in the corner of his room. He’d have to take it out later since emptying their own bedroom waste bins was a chore both he and Dudley had to do. Still he’d done it and now he knew that his Arithmancy was correct and that his runic sequence would properly measure mana based on the unit of measurement he’d established. Maybe he could tweak the runic formula so that he didn’t have to be holding the device to get a reading? He’d have to look into that, if he could somehow work his theoretical updated rune sequence into his glasses he’d be able to scan the people around him for magic. He might be able to find other Wizards and Witches! Harry sighed as he tried to calm down this would probably take a while to work out and he had to head down for dinner soon.</p><p>Harry’s dilemma with his device continued to plague him for the rest of the school year. When summer break started he’d experimented even more with his free time. He’d made dozens of prototype devices using everything he could shape and make by himself. Wood worked up to a point but he had to carry around a pretty large stick he’d bent into a circle around itself. But after a single use it burnt out just like his clay frame, only it actually smoked and smoldered instead of falling apart. The only good news was that his updated runic sequence had worked and he could get readings from a distance now. It was roughly thirty meters, give or take a bit, which was farther than he expected to get so he’d been happy about that. Turns out that Mrs. Figg’s cats actually had a little mana in them. The large black and grey one he’d scanned with the wooden hoop had registered a ‘3’ on the light display. This led Harry back to the problem of finding a material to spell-forge and etch with runes that wouldn’t burn out after a single use. He thought that stone might work but he had no way to shape stone, so that was out. With no other options available Harry was stuck with his project.</p><p>When July came around Harry was again sent to the summer day camp. He was hopeful that he could find something to work with for his project but mainly enjoyed just crafting simple things again. The blacksmith had let him help out again and Harry had used the opportunity to imbue mana into a few small plates of metal no larger than his index finger. He’d set them aside to cool without the blacksmith noticing and retrieved them later. On the second to last day of the summer day camp Harry had innocently asked the blacksmith how glass was made. The older man had grinned at the curious boy before going out back and returning with a bag of sand. The old blacksmith had tossed in a good amount of sand and some other kind of powder into a small metal bucket. The blacksmith then closed the furnace and started pumping the bellows strongly. Black smoke billowed out of the furnace chimney as the temperature inside climbed higher and higher. After some time the blacksmith had stopped pumping the bellows and let it sit and cool. After waiting a while the old blacksmith opened the furnace and used a pair of steel tongs to extract the steel bucket. The old man poured the bucket out onto a metal work table he’d cleaned off while they waited for the furnace to cool. The still soft glass spread out in a rough circle on the table. With a grin the blacksmith handed a geared up Harry a set of steel rods and told him to make the glass any shape he wanted.</p><p>Harry nodded and as he slowly shaped the cooling glass he poured some of his mana into it. Bit by bit Harry shaped the glass while pushing his mana into it. When he finished several almost lens-shaped ovals of glass were left behind. It wasn’t the crystal clear glass he had in his glasses but it was clear enough to see through easily. With a grin Harry left the blacksmith’s workspace with a promise that the old man would finish his glass up so that it wouldn’t crack and he’d give it to Harry tomorrow. True to his word the blacksmith handed Harry ten thin glass ovals the next morning and laughed at the beaming smile on the ten year old’s face. Harry returned to Privet Drive that night ecstatic with his creations. Maybe now he could get his idea working! Vernon had complained the whole way back about the camp switching its starting and ending dates from the last few years. This year the camp had taken place in the first week of July instead of the third week like it had been before. Harry had wondered about the change but hadn’t asked about it, the camp was allowed to change when it ran if it wanted to he supposed.</p><p>With his small, thin metal plates and his glass ovals Harry set about making his newest prototype mana quantifier. Oddly enough Harry found that glue could pass mana through itself without breaking down. So he’d simply glued the first glass oval onto a metal plate and slowly carved the update runic sequence into the metal. This took him almost two full days as the metal didn’t give way to the blade like soft clay and wood did. When he’d finally gotten the sequence carved Harry had tied the prototype onto the right arm of his glasses so that the oval lens went over the right lens of the glasses. With a deep breath Harry had walked to the top of the stairs and looked down into the living room. Both Vernon and Dudley were watching some show and hadn’t noticed him. Harry directed a bit of his mana into his creation as he focused on Vernon. Stifling his gasp when a number appeared on the oval lens Harry mentally cheered at the ‘1’ displayed on the lens. Turning to Dudley the number disappeared and Harry sent a bit of mana into his device again. The number appeared again, another ‘1’, as he looked at his cousin. Harry quietly retreated to his room to celebrate his successful test run.</p><p>It was the next morning when Harry picked up the mail that he saw a letter addressed to him in green ink. Turning it over he noticed a wax seal and recognized the name form his mother’s notebook, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.</p><p>
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  <strong>So how was that for a start? Our Harry has discovered his magic, trained with it, and found a burgeoning gift for Magical Item Crafting. Now his Hogwarts letter has arrived, what will the Dursley’s reaction be? Find out next time in chapter two of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy!</strong>
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  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
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<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Diagon, Testing, Heading for Hogwarts</h2></a>
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  <strong>Hello friends and fans, Kairomaru here with chapter two of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy. This chapter Harry gets his letter to Hogwarts and the Dursleys have to admit that they have known that he was Magical the whole time. Harry is able to send his reply and a friendly, if hairy, gentle giant shows up to take him shopping. How will our budding Artificer react to the hidden Magical World? Perhaps a better question, will the Magical World survive Harry’s curiosity?</strong>
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  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
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  <strong>Chapter 2 – Diagon Alley, Testing, Heading for Hogwarts</strong>
</p><p>Harry stared at the thick parchment envelope with some shock. He’d gotten a letter from Hogwarts, but why? Did they somehow find out he’d been doing Magic? How? He’d have to read it to find out, he surmised.</p><p>“Harry? What’s taking so long with the mail?” Vernon questioned from the kitchen where the Dursleys where sitting down to breakfast.</p><p>“Coming, Uncle Vernon.” Harry responded as he separated his letter from the rest of the stack of mail and walked into the kitchen. Harry passed the mail to his Uncle before going to sit in his chair. Vernon flipped through the stack muttering about junk mail and bills before pulling out a postcard and reading it.</p><p>“Seems Marge is feeling unwell, apparently ate some bad tripe on her trip.” Vernon commented as he put the postcard off to the side.</p><p>“Dad, Harry has a letter.” Dudley pointed out as he brought another forkful of food to his mouth.</p><p>“What’s this?” Vernon questioned as he looked over at his nephew to see him opening a large parchment envelope. His eyes went wide as he recalled Petunia telling him about just such an envelope being sent to her sister when she was turning eleven.</p><p>“It’s from Hogwarts, apparently I’ve been accepted to go there starting this school year.” Harry replied as he read over the first page of the letter. A heavy sigh from both his Aunt and Uncle caused him to look up at them. “What?”</p><p>“You’re Lily’s son so I guess it was bound to happen.” Petunia sighed again as she held out her hand for the letter. Harry handed her the first page and Petunia’s eyes skimmed over it. “Just like hers.”</p><p>“Wait, you both knew I was a Wizard?” Harry asked shocked. He’d hidden his Magical studies from his relatives because both the Charms and Transfiguration textbooks had mentioned the Statute of Secrecy. Harry didn’t want to break what seemed to be an important law even if he hadn’t met another Wizard or Witch. He’d also been unsure how his relatives would take his Magical displays considering they seemed proud of their successful normal lives.</p><p>“Of course we did, Harry, your mother was a Witch so you being a Wizard was very likely. We were simply waiting to see if you actually received the letter before we told you. If it didn’t come then we didn’t feel it needed to be brought up.” Vernon informed his nephew with a sigh while Dudley sat in his chair looking back and forth between his parents and his cousin in shock and confusion. From there it was a conversation about the means to get in contact with Hogwarts and accept his invite to study there. Vernon and Petunia were uncomfortable around Magic and were hoping to have a staff member from Hogwarts take Harry to the Magical shopping center in London.</p><p>“It says they ‘await my owl’ what does that mean?” Harry asked confused as the letter had come through the normal post.</p><p>“Once you write your acceptance response there should be an owl perched somewhere near the house. Just hold it out to the bird and it should take it before flying back to them.” Petunia informed remembering how Lily had sent her own acceptance letter back. With some help from Vernon and Petunia to make the acceptance letter at least partially formal, Harry sealed it up and headed out to the back yard. After looking around and not seeing an owl Harry got an idea.</p><p>“This could be a good time to try out my prototype.” Harry mused to himself as he pulled his Magic Quantifier out of the waistband of his pants. “I really need to find a better place to keep this.” He muttered before holding it against his head so that he could look through the lens of his trinket. A small bit of mana to the trinket and Harry started looking around the trees and even on rooftops within his line of sight. He didn’t get any readings of mana as he looked around but surely an owl that delivered magical letters had to have some mana of its own, right? A sudden blip on the lens and the number ‘5’ appeared causing Harry to stop his searching and notice an owl perched on the edge of the neighbor’s fence with a tree branch shading its perch. It was no wonder he hadn’t seen the bird. Its darker feathers and the shade it was perched in made it blend in. “Score one for my prototype though.” Harry chuckled as he walked towards the owl slowly. ‘At least I know I don’t have to be aware of a Magical Being to get a reading on their mana.’ He thought to himself as he stopped in front of the owl and held out the letter.</p><p>“Could you take my response back to Hogwarts?” Harry carefully asked the owl when it looked at him. There was something about the bird’s eyes that led Harry to understand that the bird had more intelligence than normal. With a soft hoot the owl held out one of its legs. Harry noticed a piece of string tied around the leg and gently set about rolling his letter up and tying it to the owl’s leg. With another hoot the owl took off and started flying in what Harry thought was a northern direction. “Guess I just wait now.” He mumbled as he headed back inside. “Since my prototype works maybe I should come up with a name for it now? But what to call it, maybe I should use an acronym?” With a chuckle Harry walked back into the house and went up to his room to ponder names for his Magic Quantifier.</p><p>By the time next morning rolled around Harry had come up with a tentative acronym name he’d liked. Spell Crafted Ocular Unit Total Energy Reader or S.C.O.U.T.E.R. for short. Saying the full name was a mouthful but calling his Magic Quantifier a Scouter made some sense. Any Magical Being within thirty meters of Harry could have their total amount of mana ‘scouted’ by him so he would at least know their relative magical strength compared to his own. Plus he’d broken down his prototype’s main features to come up with the words used in the acronym. Spell Crafted for how it was made, Ocular Unit because it was used by the eye, and Total Energy Reader because it told him the total amount of mana, which is what he called magical energy, a Magical Being had at their full strength. There were definitely still adjustments and improvements that could be made to his Scouter but for his first totally original design Harry felt that he’d done well.</p><p>A loud knock on the front door alerted everyone in the Dursley’s home that someone had arrived. Harry made his way down stairs from his room only to see Vernon at the door looking gob smacked at the large, hairy man standing on his doorstep. This was probably the staff member from Hogwarts and Harry was already too curious to hold himself back. With a quick movement he had his Scouter at his eye and was scanning the huge man for his mana amount. Harry’s eyes tried to follow the rapidly growing number on the lens but lost track quickly. When the number came to a stop Harry almost stumbled back in shock. There on the lens was the number ‘7,062’. Harry almost burst with questions just from the number alone. Was this an average reading for Magicals? Was it higher or lower than normal? How had the large man gotten such a high amount of mana? Why was he so large? Was it because he had so much mana? Question after question appeared in Harry’s mind before he settled on a single realization to try and calm himself down. His ‘270’ mana wasn’t very much when compared to this man’s. He’d need to look into becoming a bit more magically powerful in the future; it never hurt to be prepared after all. Quickly putting his Scouter back at his waist he walked down the stairs catching the large man’s attention.</p><p>“There’s Harry, look just like yer father, yeh do.” The large man laughed as Harry came to stand beside Vernon.</p><p>“You knew my father?” Harry asked curiously. Vernon and Petunia had only heard about his father a few times from his mother, so neither of them knew the man personally. This could be a good chance to learn something about his parents.</p><p>“I did indeed, bit o’ a prankster in his school days. Grew up ter’ be a respectable wizard though.” The huge man grinned; at least Harry thought so with the way his eyes crinkled upwards.</p><p>“Are you here to take me to get my school things?” Harry asked getting a nod from the large man.</p><p>“Aye, I’m supposed te’ take ye up te’ Diagon Alley ter’ buy yer school things.” The man grinned happily. “Name’s Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and the Grounds of Hogwarts.”</p><p>“Thank you for your time, Mr. Hagrid.” Harry smiled back.</p><p>“I’ll have him back in a few hours. Don’t suppose he’ll even be late fer’ dinner.” Hagrid nodded to Vernon getting a small nod back. With that Harry followed after Hagrid and the two made their way to the nearest bus stop. Throughout their trip towards London Harry asked Hagrid dozens of questions. Most of them were about his parents and the rest were about the hidden Magical World. Hagrid had been able to answer the majority of his questions so Harry had been mostly satisfied during the trip. When they stopped in front of a dingy pub called ‘The Leaky Cauldron’ Harry couldn’t keep the unimpressed look off his face.</p><p>"This is the entrance to Diagon Alley?" Harry questioned Hagrid.</p><p>Hagrid chuckled at the confused tone in Harry's voice. He supposed that the Leaky Cauldron really did look a bit out of place when compared to the more modern surrounding buildings.</p><p>"Indeed it is, Harry." Hagrid nodded. "Remember what I told ye; yer quite famous in the Wizarding World. So we’ll try ter’ make our way through without drawing attention." Harry grimaced not sure a man of Hagrid’s size could go anywhere without drawing attention. He was also a bit skeptical about this supposed fame of his, but would prefer not to cause a scene if possible. Quickly making sure his hair covered the faint scar on his forehead the two entered the Leaky Cauldron.</p><p>“Afternoon, Hagrid, the usual?” The man at the bar called as soon as Hagrid walked through the door.</p><p>“Not today, Tom, escortin’ a new First Year through Diagon.” Hagrid replied as he gently patted Harry’s shoulder. The pat still almost sent Harry to the floor though. They were quickly able to pass through the Leaky Cauldron without incident and were soon in Diagon Alley proper. Harry had thought the brick wall that separated when certain bricks were touched was a cool trick. Diagon Alley itself featured a cobblestone road that was too narrow compared to a modern street and a variety of smallish buildings selling all sorts of strange things. It looked like something one might see in a history book about London by Harry’s reckoning.</p><p>"Come along Harry, our firs’ stop is Gringotts, the Wizarding bank." Hagrid whispered lowly, not wanting to give away the boy’s identity.</p><p>"What are those?" Harry asked surprised as he saw a pair of obviously non-human guards while they were walking up the steps of the bank.</p><p>"Goblins, Harry." Hagrid replied. "They own and run Gringotts, their good with money, but not very fond o’ wizards. Yeh’d be mad to try an’ rob the place, full of spells and enchantments. It’s a huge maze o’ tunnels and even dragons if the stories are to be believed."</p><p>Harry almost stopped to stare at Hagrid in shock. Goblins as bankers of all things? That was quite the departure from the fantasy stereotype of stupid, smelly creatures that were found in the fantasy books at the library. They were probably more vicious though. According to Vernon’s grumblings human bankers were the most cutthroat people in the world. Pairing that up with Magic and how these Goblins seemed to practically glare at everyone they saw didn’t inspire confidence.</p><p>An inscription on the second set of doors caught Harry’s eye and he quickly read it as they passed. ‘Enter stranger, but take heed. Of what awaits the sin of greed. For those who take, but do not earn. Must pay most dearly in their turn. So if you seek beneath our floors. A treasure that was never yours. Thief, you have been warned, beware. Of finding more than treasure there.’ Well that wasn’t terrifying or anything, Harry thought to himself. Groundskeeper and soon-to-be student stepped up to one of the numerous goblin tellers shortly after entering the bank proper.</p><p>"Afternoon, we’ve come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter’s vault." Hagrid said. The goblin teller looked over the two of them before responding.</p><p>“Do you have the key?” The goblin asked getting Hagrid to perk up.</p><p>“Got it here somewhere.” Hagrid replied digging through his many pockets. Within a minute Hagrid grinned as he held up a small golden key. The goblin took the key and looked it over carefully.</p><p>“This appears to be in order. You are aware that you may only withdraw from the trust vault, correct?” The goblin questioned getting Harry to start slightly. Trust vault? Didn’t that mean there was another vault in his name?</p><p>“Yeah, I also have a letter from Albus Dumbledore about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred thirteen.” Hagrid replied as he passed a letter to the teller. The goblin took the letter and began to read over it. After a short moment the teller nodded.</p><p>“I’ll have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!” The teller called out and another goblin came over.</p><p>"Excuse me you mentioned this was my trust vault, correct?" Harry interjected as politely as he could. "Does that mean that there is also another vault?"</p><p>"Of course, but you do not have access to it until you are of age." The goblin teller replied his tone laced with slight annoyance. Harry was much too excited by the idea of potentially learning about his Magical Family to care about that though, and pressed on with his questioning. "Would it be possible to discuss my account with the one managing it?"</p><p>"Is that necessary, Harry? I told yer Uncle I’d have yeh back before dinner." Hagrid asked him. "Yer trust vault should have more than o’nough for your school supplies.”</p><p>"What's the You-Know-What?" Harry asked in response to Hagrid’s comment.</p><p>"I can’t tell yeh that! It’s more than me job’s worth to tell yeh." Hagrid replied quickly. Harry simply nodded. Obviously, they weren't going to tell a new student if they were being so secretive in the first place.</p><p>“If that’s the case I can talk to the account manager while you retrieve the item you were sent to collect.” Harry offered only to get a harrumph from the goblin called Griphook. Turning to look at the goblin both Harry and Hagrid were met with a glare.</p><p>“If you could decide your business quickly it would be most appreciated. Time is money and you’re wasting mine.” Griphook growled lowly at them.</p><p>“Please Hagrid, I just want to know what’s in my other vault and if I can try and learn about my family.” Harry pleaded with the gentle giant of a man.</p><p>“Alright, alright, Harry, no need ter start with the beggin’ look.” Hagrid relented with a sigh. “Look these Gringotts’ carts make me queasy anyway. So I’ll probably need a pick-me-up at the Leaky Cauldron afterwards. Once you’re done with yer business and got yer money I’ll be waiting for yeh at the bottom of the bank steps. If I’m not there come straight to the Cauldron, jus’ knock on the bricks to open ‘em from this side, and find me alright?”</p><p>“Of course, Hagrid, I still need you to show me around after all.” Harry smiled back at the large man. Hagrid beamed back at him and they turned to Griphook. They were startled to find another goblin already waiting beside Griphook.</p><p>“This is Ripfang, he’ll be taking you to vault seven hundred thirteen.” Griphook introduced the new goblin. Hagrid nodded and followed the goblin. “Follow me, wizard, I’ll take you to see Account Overseer Margok after we get your withdrawal taken care of.” With that said Griphook set a brisk pace towards the same door Hagrid and Ripfang had left through only moments before.</p><p>One roller coaster-like cart ride later and Harry was standing in front of his trust vault. Griphook opened the door and Harry saw piles upon piles of gold, silver and bronze coins stacked inside the vault. Griphook pointed out a money pouch hanging in the vault and told Harry to use it to collect his withdrawal. Scooping in a large amount of all three types of coins, after having Griphook explain what each one was, Harry was confident that he’d have enough money to buy his school supplies and any other books or items that caught his interest. While on the cart ride back up Harry mentally reminded himself of the Wizarding currency, Gold Galleons, Silver Sickles, and Bronze Knuts. Twenty nine Knuts to a Sickle, seventeen Sickles to a Galleon. When they got back to the surface Griphook once again set a brisk pace as he led Harry to see his Account Overseer. Arriving at a door with a gold plaque that simply said Margok, Griphook knocked three times and a call of ‘Enter.’ was heard from within.</p><p>“Thank you for your help Griphook.” Harry thanked the goblin for leading him with a nod. Griphook simply turned and walked away without another word and Harry entered the office.</p><p>"I must admit that I am rather surprised that you would want to speak to me already, Mr. Potter." Margok stated as soon as his office door closed behind Harry. "Since you cannot touch any of the Potter finances aside from what is in your trust vault until you are of age, something that I am sure you were already informed of by the teller." Harry felt that Margok was really asking 'Why are you here wasting my time?’</p><p>"I was simply curious about the state of my family’s finances." Harry replied as he moved over to the plain chairs that sat in front of Margok’s desk. "I would like an accounting of the Potter family assets." Harry was thankful that he’d learned these terms from listening to Vernon over the years as his uncle managed the Dursley family’s bank accounts.</p><p>"Very well." Margok grumbled, taking some documents out of a drawer on his side of the desk. "The Potter family liquid assets amount to ten thousand galleons with another five thousand in your trust vault. The main vault also holds assorted heirlooms and other items acquired over the years."</p><p>"Is there an inventory of these items?" Harry questioned eagerly, his mind on what might be in there in regards to his family and their history.</p><p>"No. Gringotts merely stores the items of our vault holders. We do not care what they are, unless the item is goblin-made in which case our treaty with your Ministry allows us to reclaim ownership of said item." Margok informed the young wizard.</p><p>"I see." Harry disappointedly replied. He was hoping that there might be a family history or some mementos from his parents.</p><p>Margok paid him no mind as he continued. "The only land the Potter’s still own is where Potter Manor once stood. It was destroyed by the Death Eaters shortly after the deaths of your paternal grandparents."</p><p>Harry was sad to learn that his family’s home had also been destroyed. He’d learned about what had happened to his parents from Hagrid on their trip to London. Something was bothering him about all this though. The money to own a large manor and estate couldn't be coming from nowhere, there had to be some sort of business bringing a profit into the Potter vault.</p><p>"Does the Potter family own some kind of business?" Harry asked.</p><p>"Not anymore." Margok bluntly replied. "A small scale potion-making company called Sleekeazy’s belonged to your grandfather, Fleamont Potter. But he sold the company upon his retirement. It did quadruple the Potter family’s wealth but most of that was spent on the war effort against the Death Eaters.”</p><p>"What’ll happen to the lands if I have no money? Will they be seized because of taxes?" Harry asked having heard of repossession on the television before and having the basic premise explained by Vernon and Petunia.</p><p>"Not as such." Margok grunted. "The taxes on ancestral lands are fairly low, around a hundred Galleons a year for a property the size of the Potter estate."</p><p>"I see." Harry replied relieved, before frowning. He would have to find out some way to get some money coming into his family’s vault. "I can do whatever I want with the money in my trust vault, is that correct?"</p><p>"It is." Margok stated clearly bored.</p><p>"Is the amount of gold in my trust vault a fixed amount or does it get periodically replenished?" Harry questioned trying to see if he could get to the money in the Potter family vault and use some of it to invest.</p><p>"The former, the trust vault is only refilled if its balance becomes zero." Margok informed.</p><p>"Could I move the contents of my trust vault to a new one, and repeat this until I have an appropriate amount of funds?" Harry asked his mind working to try and figure out his family’s financial problem and fix it.</p><p>Margok sighed, while it wasn’t all that hard to figure out this type of scheme, branch members of wealthy families thought of it often enough, it did show that the boy was trying to make plans for that money.</p><p>"There is a rather substantial fee applied to such services." Margok stated with a fanged smile.</p><p>"How much of a fee?" Harry asked suddenly suspicious.</p><p>"Twenty percent per transaction.” Margok informed greed practically dripping from his tone.</p><p>"That's practically theft!" Harry gaped at the goblin.</p><p>"You could always wait until you are of age." Margok offered; smirking at the glare the young wizard was aiming at him. He may have been willing to go lower, but the young Potter seemed desperate enough for the money to agree to that exorbitant fee and Gringotts didn’t do charity, especially not for wizards.</p><p>"I think I’ll just leave the money where it is for now." Harry grimaced.</p><p>"If you’re sure." Margok replied with his fanged smile, it was unfortunate that he wouldn’t be making a profit off this meeting. But it showed the Potter boy was smart enough to bide his time when it came to his inheritance. Good money sense was a rare trait in a lot of wizards now days.</p><p>Hagrid’s good mood was greatly appreciated when Harry came out of Gringotts. He got the feeling that Hagrid was a man of humbleness and was able to enjoy the simple things. Harry decided that he should probably learn to take a page from the large man’s book and enjoy what he could with what he had. His financial situation may demand it until he reached seventeen. But Hagrid’s good mood was infectious and it helped lift Harry’s own mood since it wasn’t exactly sunshine and daisies after his meeting with Margok.</p><p>Their first stop after Gringotts was Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions. Even after Hagrid’s warning about people seeing his scar, Madam Malkin stayed professional, though it could be that she didn’t notice the faint scar. It gave him hope that it wouldn’t be as bad as Hagrid claimed. While waiting for the rest of his robes to be adjusted and then bagged up, Harry pulled out his Scouter and checked Madam Malkins’ mana amount. Harry didn’t know how to feel about the ‘3846’ that appeared on the lens. It suggested that mana varied significantly from person to person. But while he waited he looked out the large window of the shop at all the Witches and Wizards moving about.</p><p>‘Well, this is as good a chance as any to experiment a bit.’ Harry thought with a small grin as he started scanning mana amounts from as many people as possible. He’d try and remember as many of them as he could to come up with the best average back at Privet Drive. ‘2270’ from a wizard selling something out of a stand on the side of the alleyway, ‘5538’ from a witch that looked to be wearing some type of uniform robe. A reading of ‘896’ from a boy that looked to be two or three years older than Harry, ‘1820’ was from the older witch leading the boy through the alley. ‘6708’ came from another person wearing the uniform robe, an older wizard this time, ‘1350’ from a witch that looked about the same age as the boy from earlier.</p><p>“Grab yer bag Harry. Still got more things ter buy.” Hagrid called getting Harry to put his Scouter away and walk over to grab his bag of new robes. He came out of the robe shop in one of his new robes feeling a bit silly, but he did blend in now and he was sure he’d get use to wearing them with some time.</p><p>The trunk shop and apothecary were next, both of which passed without incident. Though Harry did spend a few extra Galleons on a trunk enchanted with a permanent ‘Feather Light’ Charm and an Expanded Interior that essentially quadrupled the amount of space inside. Pulling on the small handles inside the trunk literally pulled another trunk space out of what was basically thin air. Harry really wanted to figure out enchantments like this! So many possibilities were running through his head already! It was in the book shop that he once again cut into their shopping time getting a fond sigh out of Hagrid.</p><p>“Yer definitely yer mum’s son alright; curious ‘bout everything and wantin’ to learn it all.” Hagrid chuckled. “Always surprised everyone she wasn’t a Ravenclaw.”</p><p>“She was in Gryffindor, right?” Harry asked to confirm what Hagrid had told him on the trip to London.</p><p>“Aye, both yer parents were.” Hagrid nodded.</p><p>“Well, maybe I’ll end up in Ravenclaw like mum should have been?” Harry asked with a grin getting a chuckle out of Hagrid. Harry continued browsing the shelves of Flourish and Blott’s grabbing all of his required texts. It was when he noticed the sign for Ancient Runes textbooks that Harry quickly realized he could buy more than required and expand his knowledge.</p><p>"Ancient Runes and Arithmancy are electives that start in Third Year, Harry. You won’t be needed them just yet." Hagrid said as he saw Harry picking out books on both subjects.</p><p>"I'm buying them now. They’re interesting subjects and I want to learn." Harry stated. “Besides I’ve not had much chance to explore Magic, Hagrid, I need to learn what I can before school starts.”</p><p>“I guess yeh have a point, Harry.” Hagrid conceded as Harry smiled and pulled a few more books off the shelves before they made their way towards the checkout counter. After all Harry wanted to learn about all sorts of Magic and with titles like, ‘Magical Crafting’, ‘Advanced Magical Crafting’, and “Esoteric Magics from Around the World’ how could he not buy them?</p><p>Harry had long wanted a pet, so the Magical Menagerie was their next stop. Looking around for a while, Hagrid suddenly pointed out a beautiful Snowy Owl with luminous yellow eyes. Harry thought the owl looked amazing.</p><p>“She’s a real beaut’ isn’t she Harry?” Hagrid asked with a grin as they walked over towards the owl.</p><p>“She’s brilliant.” Harry agreed as they stood in front of the owl. The owl looked them over and Harry slowly reached out to pet her. The Snowy Owl allowed Harry to gently run his fingers over her pure white feathers.</p><p>“I think she likes yeh, Harry.” Hagrid chuckled. “How ‘bout I buy her for yeh as an early birthday present?”</p><p>“Hagrid, you don’t have to do that.” Harry replied not having expected to be bought a gift.</p><p>“But I want to, Harry. Just think of it as a birthday gift from a family friend.” Hagrid smiled getting a beaming smile back from Harry. They quickly picked out a nice cage for the Snowy Owl and purchased some food and treats for her before leaving the Magical Menagerie.</p><p>Their last stop of the day was the wand shop, Ollivander's. Harry couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was some kind of unidentifiable feeling in the air. Almost like static to his senses.</p><p>"Good afternoon." The soft greeting came from behind, causing Harry to almost jump from the sudden sound from behind.</p><p>"Hello." Harry replied with caution. There was something about the man and his silvery eyes that was definitely odd.</p><p>"Ah, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you here soon, Harry Potter." The man continued, seeming to ignore Harry’s discomfort.</p><p>"Must yeh do that every time, Ollivander?" Hagrid asked with a sigh his own huge hand over his heart.</p><p>"Rubeus, Rubeus Hagrid. Oak at sixteen inches and a Unicorn tail hair core, rather bendy.” Ollivander rattled off as he looked at Hagrid. “Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?"</p><p>"Yes, but I’ve still got the pieces though.” Hagrid sighed.</p><p>“But you don’t use them do you?” Ollivander inquired getting Hagrid to grab one side of his large coat while shaking his head.</p><p>Harry had to suppress his curiosity at the conversation between the two men. How had Hagrid gotten expelled? The old wand maker apparently knew about Hagrid’s wand and what it was made out of as well. Did he know about a lot of people’s wands?</p><p>"Well then, Mr. Potter, let us find your wand." Ollivander said, handing him a wand. "Try this one. Its Beech wood and Dragon heartstring. Nine inches exactly. Nice and flexible. Give it a wave."</p><p>Harry took the wand, feeling his skin tingle when it came into contact with the wood. He gave it a wave as instructed, feeling a little foolish since he knew he could do Magic without it. A weak stream of multi-colored sparks came from the end of the wand.</p><p>"A match on the first try?" Hagrid asked in surprise.</p><p>"No, no, I don't think so." Ollivander replied as he snatched the wand away, his eyes taking on a calculating glint. "Try this one Mr. Potter. Maple and Phoenix feather at eleven and a half inches."</p><p>Harry tried it, getting a similar result as the first. Ollivander suddenly looked as if he was suspicious of something and Harry wondered if it was about his ability to use Wandless magic. Thankfully, the old man didn't comment on it.</p><p>Many wands came and went, producing varying results, some stronger and others weaker. Eventually they came to a Holly wand with a Phoenix feather core that had a stronger reaction than any of the others so far. He felt something connect to his magic and seemingly fit with it, the wand releasing a great stream of sparks without any movement until it settled down a moment later.</p><p>"Curious, very curious." Ollivander muttered as he gazed at the wand in Harry’s hand.</p><p>"What’s curious?" Harry questioned as he looked back at the wand maker.</p><p>"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter." The wand maker stated. "Every single one, I find it odd that the Phoenix who donated the feather for that wand gave another feather, just one other. That other feather was used to make the wand that gave you that scar.” Ollivander explained as he pointed towards Harry’s forehead. “It is very curious that you would be chosen by the brother wand to that of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."</p><p>Harry tried really hard not to think it, but it was useless. That sounded undeniably like an important part of the plot for a few of the fantasy books he’d read over the years. Hagrid had even mentioned that Voldemort might not actually be dead, merely severely weakened and barely holding onto life somewhere in the world.</p><p>"I think we can expect great things from you, Mr. Potter." Ollivander nodded. "After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things, terrible yes, but great."</p><p>Somewhat unnerved by the creepy tone the old man used, Harry was still getting that feeling of an ‘important plot point’ just being revealed from his books. But his innate curiosity eventually overwhelmed him and he had to ask Ollivander a question.</p><p>“You made all of these wands, Mr. Ollivander?” Harry questioned.</p><p>“Hmm? No, not all of them, a great many of the ones here are my work. Some, however, are my father’s and one or two still remain from my grandfather’s time.” Ollivander answered.</p><p>“How do you make wands?” Harry asked before he could stop himself.</p><p>“Ah, I’m afraid the secrets of wandlore aren’t so easily acquired, Mr. Potter.” Ollivander grinned getting an embarrassed flush to take over Harry’s cheeks. “Though, I must admit my own curiosity about that trinket in your robe pocket.” The old man stated as he stared directly at the pocket that held Harry’s Scouter. Harry quickly put his hand over the pocket as if to protect his creation.</p><p>“How did you know about that?” Harry questioned staring back at the wand maker. Hagrid merely looked confused at the back and forth between the two.</p><p>“I’ve been crafting wands for decades, Mr. Potter. I’m rather in tune to the magic given off by Enchanted Objects.” Ollivander explained calmly. “Might I have a look at your trinket?”</p><p>“I guess.” Harry agreed after giving the wand maker a long stare. He pulled the Scouter out of his robe pocket and let Ollivander look it over.</p><p>“I see, yes a simple counting runic sequence, followed by a permanent unit of measure outlined by the second half of the sequence. But I’m not sure what it is that’s being counted. This combination in the second half is new to me.” Ollivander mumbled to himself as he looked over the Scouter. “Would you care to enlighten a fellow craftsman, Mr. Potter?”</p><p>“It counts mana.” Harry replied after a moment of indecision. “Aren’t there ways to measure someone’s magical strength?” Ollivander’s eyes widening immediately clued Harry into the fact that, no, apparently there wasn’t a known way to quantify a person’s magical strength.</p><p>“Are you saying you’ve come up with a reliable unit of measure for Magic, Mr. Potter?  That’s been debated for centuries without anyone coming to a consensus. I dare say this little trinket of yours could upend the way many Magicals view Magic as a whole.” Ollivander breathed out as he looked over the Scouter with newfound respect. Harry flushed embarrassed but also incredibly proud of himself at the same time.</p><p>“Would you like to give it a try, Mr. Ollivander?” Harry asked getting a surprisingly energetic nod from the old wand maker. Harry showed him how to hold it so that the lens went over his right eye and Ollivander instantly figured out how to activate it. With a hum of enjoyment Ollivander scanned Harry and then a moment later Hagrid.</p><p>“So a reading of ‘270’ for you Mr. Potter, and Rubeus has what I can only imagine is an impressive ‘7,062’. Is it possible to scan myself?” Ollivander asked while Hagrid sat down and smiled at the number given to him. He’d always wondered if he’d be a strong wizard if he hadn’t gotten expelled. Harry’s trinket seemed to answer the question in a positive way, at least when it came to magical strength.</p><p>“Sorry, Mr. Ollivander, shortly after you stop focusing the lens on a person the number disappears.” Harry explained. “I can give you a reading though.” Ollivander gave a quick nod as he handed the Scouter back to Harry. With a quick scan Harry gave Ollivander his reading. “You have a mana amount of ‘4196’, Mr. Ollivander.”</p><p>“Hmm, I see, I wonder if my age affects the reading or if it’s because I’ve never been a combative type of person?” Ollivander mused to himself as he thought about the number. Had it been higher when he was younger and shrank as he aged? Was it continually growing? Did his constant work on wands make it higher or lower? There were so very many questions. “I would advise you to not show your runic sequence to anyone else, Mr. Potter. There are many who would steal your work just to make a quick Galleon.”</p><p>“Oh, right, I hadn’t thought about that.” Harry muttered to himself. He was sure that someone would have come up with something similar before him and hadn’t thought he’d literally made something potentially revolutionary. Mr. Ollivander seeing his expression quickly went over and wrote something out on a piece of parchment.</p><p>“Here you are, Mr. Potter. This runic sequence should help protect your work.” Ollivander stated as Harry took the small piece of parchment. “That’s a self-destruction sequence that can be placed against another runic sequence. If the two sequences ever physically separate the self-destruction sequence destroys both of them rendering them unreadable to anyone.”</p><p>“Thank you, Mr. Ollivander; I don’t know how I can thank you for this.” Harry stated while giving the old wand maker an actual bow of gratitude.</p><p>“You showed me your unique work, Mr. Potter. It’s only fair that I should part with my own. I’ve been using that self-destruction sequence to protect the secrets of my own style of wand crafting since I was a young man.” Ollivander smiled at the young Enchanter. “It seems we won’t have to wait for you to do great things, Mr. Potter, you’ve already started doing them. I look forward to what you’ll do in the future. You may be the best Enchanter we’ve seen in decades or, dare I say, the first Artificer in well over a century.” Harry found he liked that word, Artificer. It sounded like a title worth striving for.</p><p>After leaving Ollivander’s shop Hagrid took Harry back on the train to Surrey. During the trip Harry asked Hagrid not to tell anyone about his Scouter, at least not until he revealed it himself. Hagrid had agreed instantly knowing that some people would try and take Harry’s work for their own profit. Harry smiled and waved at Hagrid as the large man dropped him off at Number Four. The two had agreed to write letters for the remainder of the summer and Harry’s new owl could take them back and forth. It was nice having a Magical friend he could talk to about all sorts of Magic. Hagrid seemed incredibly knowledgeable about Magical Beasts in particular and Harry was inclined to learn about them as well with how passionately Hagrid went on about them.</p><p>-September First-</p><p>Harry sighed happily as he sank into the seats of the Hogwarts Express. Vernon had dropped Harry off at King’s Cross before heading back to Privet Drive to enjoy the rest of the Sunday. Thanks to his ‘Feather Light’ trunk Harry hadn’t needed any assistance getting his luggage onto a trolley; placing Hedwig’s cage on top and wheeling it towards the barrier that separated Platforms Nine and Ten had been the easy part. Harry had actually stopped to admire the impressive metal archway after crossing through it. It was an Artifact created by his family after all. Harry’s Great-Great-Great-Granduncle, Richard Potter, had been commissioned to create the archway back in Eighteen Fifty by the Minister of Magic at the time, Evangeline Orpington. It allowed only Magicals to pass through unless it was closed off, such as in an emergency, with the only way for Muggles to pass through being if they were escorted by a Wizard or Witch. Richard Potter had been the last Artificer of the Potter family, based on what the genealogy book Harry had bought at Flourish and Blott’s said. He’d only decided to buy the book when he’d flipped to the ‘P’ section and found a history of the Potter family, or at least its most notable members, which was more than enough reason to buy the whole book in Harry’s opinion. Finding out that there had been six well known Artificers in the Potter family since the Twelfth Century gave Harry another reason to go after the title.</p><p>Getting to spend ten months of the year for the next seven years learning Magic sounded almost perfect. Almost, because he'd learned that Magicals were technologically stupid and Harry had grown up with electricity, television, and the like. Living in a society where the greatest technological innovation that didn’t require Magic was indoor plumbing was going to be very different. Heck, they still used parchment and quills for all their writing! He'd bought a couple of ballpoint pens as soon as possible since they were what he’d grown up with. He’d use them as much as possible until his writing with a quill improved. There was tradition and then there was being stupid, Harry didn’t want to look stupid so he’d continue to practice with the quill while using the much simpler ballpoint pen until his penmanship was up to his standards.</p><p>While on the subject of things that Harry found weird about the Magical World, Harry took out his wand. It was Holly with a Phoenix feather core, eleven inches even, nice and supple. He wasn’t sure what nice and supple had to do with anything but Ollivander had mentioned it. He was honestly a bit puzzled by the concept of wands. The wand did make his magic unquestionably easier when used, but from what he'd both read and seen so far, most Magicals seemed to think that magic was as good as impossible without one.</p><p>That just made no sense to Harry. The mana resided in the witch or wizard; otherwise a wand could even be used by Muggles to cast spells. With this thought in mind, Harry concluded that wands were just magical foci, designed to make the use of magic easier. That made sense, considering the better control allowed for fine detailed spell work, like healing spells. The near crippling reliance on wands to do any magic at all did not make any sense.</p><p>Harry was already determined to master his magic without the need of a wand. Much of this determination was based on his ability to already perform Magic without one. Not to say he wouldn’t use a Magical focus if he absolutely needed to. Honestly he planned to make a few different types of them in the future. A wand was one of the most versatile foci to be created, but it certainly wasn’t the first. Magical rings, amulets, swords, knives, staves, and armor had all been crafted at various points throughout history. If the focus in question was locked into fulfilling a singular spell it would output that spell not only easier than with a wand but with greater force as well. Harry already had a few ideas floating around in his head.</p><p>Another practical reason for his determination came from Hagrid reminding him not to cast any spells at home, as the Ministry of Magic forbid Underage Sorcery and could track it. But they had clearly not managed to track any of the numerous spells he'd performed wandlessly in the past couple of years, which meant that they were tracking the wand use rather than Magic use itself.</p><p>While his accomplishments hadn’t been overly impressive, almost all of the spells he could do were in the First Year Charms curriculum, so none of them were considered great feats of Magic. But if the Ministry was tracking actual Magic use then they should still have registered considering he lived in a completely Muggle neighborhood. The Ministry may claim that they could detect any magic use, but they obviously couldn't.</p><p>Harry had read a lot of fantasy books in his search for inspiration while trying to figure out the ways of Magic. Some of these books featured the theme of a corrupt government in the narrative. The numerous instances of Restricted Magic that were mentioned in the books he'd bought at Flourish and Blott’s further solidified his developing opinion on the Ministry. After reading more on the subject it honestly didn't take him long to develop a dislike of the Ministry of Magic and start to wonder if they weren’t a bit corrupt. It just seemed odd to the young wizard that so many Magical topics were completely banned from study. All of them were usually just lumped together under the umbrella term of Dark Magic and forbidden to everyone. It made Harry want to find out what was so horrible about several of the subjects that had been banned. It wasn't like he planned to go around murdering and sacrificing people or anything. Besides, according to the Ministry’s laws, he was constantly breaking the Decree about the Reasonable Restriction on Underage Sorcery. But he honestly didn’t see any harm in breaking some of the Ministry’s more silly laws in his pursuit of Magical knowledge.</p><p>A knock on his compartment door startled Harry from his thoughts and he looked up quickly as the door opened. The person on the other side was a girl at least five or six years older than Harry himself. She was wearing ripped jeans and a t-shirt with what appeared to be the ‘Weird Sisters’ band logo on it. He’d seen the logo in the Daily Prophet, which he now had a subscription to thanks to Hagrid, and knew them as a very popular magical music group. The most fascinating thing about the teen in question was her oddly colored hair and eyes. Bright pink hair with purple eyes wasn’t exactly common even in the Magical World. She must have used a spell to make these drastic changes to herself.</p><p>“Wotcher, the name’s Tonks. Don’t suppose you’d mind if I sat with you, right ickle Firstie?” Tonks asked with a playful grin.</p><p>“Uh, no please come in.” Harry invited the older girl. Tonks gave him a brief smile before stepping into the compartment with her trunk and with a quick wave of her wand had it levitated into the overhead rack. With that out of the way the older teen sat down across from Harry and got comfortable.</p><p>“So, you know my name, what’s yours?” Tonks asked once she’d gotten herself situated.</p><p>“Oh, right, I’m Harry, Harry Potter.” Harry introduced himself. Tonks eyes widened slightly before she snorted in laughter.</p><p>“That’s funny and all, since Harry Potter is supposed to start Hogwarts this year, but you won’t fool anybody without the scar on the forehead.” Tonks chuckled only to choke slightly when Harry lifted up his bangs and showed her the faint scar. “Blimey! You weren’t kidding!” She stated as she traced the scar with her eyes. “Sorry about not believing you. Just the rumors all say the scar was bigger and more noticeable because it was made by Dark Magic, you know?”</p><p>“I’m afraid I stopped listening to most of the rumors when I heard some of them say I rode Dragons at five years old and fought Vampires and Werewolves across Europe when I was nine.” Harry sighed while shaking his head. Tonks chuckled at his clear exasperation with Wizarding Britain’s rumor mill.</p><p>“Well you’re here now so you’ll only have to deal with Hogwarts’ rumor mill for a while.” Tonks grinned getting another sigh from Harry.</p><p>“I’d rather be able to study Magic in peace.” Harry replied as he patted the book next to him. He’d been planning to crack it open when the train departed.</p><p>“What’s that you’re reading?” Tonks asked curiously. Harry showed her the cover of the book and she read the title in her head. ‘Advanced Magical Crafting: Create Spells and Enchant Objects’ by Wren Strix. “Harry that’s like Sixth or Seventh Year material and you haven’t even been sorted yet. Surely you aren’t telling me you understand any of that.” She reasoned as she looked back at him.</p><p>“What’s not to understand? It’s just Runes and Arithmancy and how to get the desired effects from them. Materials are important of course but I’m told you can order most anything through Owl Order. Shouldn’t be hard to get what I need when I’m ready to start experimenting.” Harry replied as he looked over his book for any reason Tonks would think it was difficult to understand.</p><p>“Nerrrrrrrd!” Tonks exclaimed as she pointed at him. Harry’s eyes went wide at her loud proclamation causing Tonks to burst into laughter.</p><p>“What’s so funny?” Harry demanded a little incensed at the older girl’s teasing.</p><p>“Nothing, Harry, don’t worry. You might be a nerd but Tonks will still be your pal!” Tonks replied as she got her laughter under control.</p><p>“Oi!” Harry called out getting another round of giggles out of Tonks.</p><p>“Oh, don’t pout Harry, I’m just teasing.” Tonks smiled as she leaned back into her seat. Harry didn’t think he was pouting at all! “So, if you can understand all of that, does that mean you’ve made a spell or Enchanted Object before?” She asked curiously and almost burst into giggles again when Harry perked right back up at her question.</p><p>“Yeah, I’ve made two so far. I probably could have made a few more if I’d stuck to simpler trinkets like my first one; but I got really invested into my second project and ended up spending almost a year on it.” Harry explained as he reached into his pockets and pulled out his Hiding Stone and his Scouter. Tonks pulled the drop down table up and locked it into place so that Harry could set his trinkets on it. Looking them over Tonks saw a small flat stone with thick twine wrapped around it with a loop of twine left on top. It looked like it was meant to be hung from the twine and had four Runes etched into it. The other was a thin metal bar with a glass lens attached to it. A small plank of wood no thicker than a popsicle’ stick was attached to one side of the metal as well.</p><p>“So what’s this one do?” Tonks asked pointing at the stone. It seemed the simplest so she figured it was probably his first creation.</p><p>“That’s a Hiding Stone. It makes the one holding it less noticeable. Alternatively you can hang it on something to make the other object less noticeable. It’s not very strong, since people that want to find you can see through it, but no one will notice you ‘out of the corner of their eye’ as the saying goes.” Harry explained. Tonks whistled impressed.</p><p>“That’s still pretty neat Harry. I can think of a few times I would’ve wanted something like this. Plus you made it before even coming to Hogwarts, so that’s doubly impressive.” Tonks grinned getting an adorable blush out of the First Year. “So what’s this other one do?”</p><p>“That’s my current best work. I call it a Scouter, it’s short for Spell Crafted Ocular Unit Total Energy Reader, and it reads a person’s total amount of mana.” Harry explained.</p><p>“That name would’ve been way too long if you hadn’t shortened it.” Tonks chuckled getting a bashful grin from Harry. “One question though?”</p><p>“Sure, what is it?” Harry asked.</p><p>“What’s mana?” Tonks asked confused.</p><p>“Right, I borrowed the term from Muggle fiction. I guess most Magically-raised people wouldn’t have heard of it.” Harry stated as he scratched the side of his head. “Mana is what I call Magical Energy. My Scouter uses a base unit of measurement to calculate a Magical’s total Magical strength.” He explained.</p><p>“Wait, wait, and wait! You’ve made something that can tell you a person’s Magical strength?! No one has ever agreed on a way to truly measure Magic! How the bloody hell did you do it?!” Tonks asked shocked. This was considered impossible for as long as anyone could remember! How had Harry done it before even coming to Hogwarts?!</p><p>“I used the Lumos Charm as the base.” Harry spat out quickly shocked by Tonks’ reaction. “I just kept using less and less mana to cast it until I found out the absolute minimum amount required to get the spell to work.”</p><p>“So how does it work?” Tonks asked once she’d calmed down slightly. “I see a lens so I’m assuming you look through that.”</p><p>“Correct, here I’ll scan you as a demonstration.” Harry offered getting an enthusiastic nod from Tonks.</p><p>“Scan away, nerd.” Tonks grinned, getting a sigh from Harry at her teasing. Harry held the Scouter up to his eye and added the small amount of mana to activate it. The numbers climbed rapidly before settling on ‘4460’.</p><p>“Wow, you’ve got quite a bit of mana, Tonks. You rate in at a ‘4460’ on the Scouter, that’s stronger than a few of the Witches and Wizards I’ve seen so far. Tonks looked pleased with herself before turning to face him.</p><p>“What’s the average so far? I don’t know how many you’ve been able to get readings on but the more people involved the more accurate the average right?” Tonks asked getting Harry to sigh.</p><p>“I’ve only been able to get the readings of eleven people so far so it isn’t very accurate yet. But the current average is close to thirty five hundred.” Harry informed her.</p><p>“Well that means I’m still above average so I’m good!” Tonks smirked in triumph. Harry chuckled at her energetic personality. “You want to walk the train after we depart and try and get some more readings? It would only be of school age children but you could get an average for our age range at least.” She offered and Harry nodded happily, the chance to collect more data was always welcome.</p><p>Before long the train departed and the two started planning their walk up and down the train. Harry was a bit confused about something and felt like he could ask Tonks about it.</p><p>“Hey, Tonks?” Harry asked.</p><p>“What’s up, Harry?” Tonks questioned.</p><p>“Why did you decide to sit with me? You’re fun to be around so I figured you’d have a bunch of friends to sit with.” Harry wondered getting a grin from Tonks.</p><p>“Most of my closer friends graduated last year, so poor old Tonksie got left behind with only a couple of her underclassman friends. But they’re already crammed four deep into their compartment and I like room to stretch my legs.” Tonks explained as she stretched her legs out until they touched the seat beside Harry’s.</p><p>“Oh that makes sense. It would be horrible to be uncomfortable for the entire six hour ride.” Harry nodded. There was a knock on their compartment door and Harry brought his Scouter up to his eye to get a reading of the person’s mana. The door opened and a bushy haired girl and a nervous looking boy stood in the doorway. Harry scanned the girl first getting a reading of ‘104’ before quickly scanning the nervous boy and getting a ‘116’.</p><p>“Have either of you seen a toad? Neville here has lost his.” The bushy haired girl asked.</p><p>“Nope, no toads here, though if you want to find it quickly I’d suggest getting a Prefect to try Summoning it with the Accio Charm.” Tonks replied getting the girl’s eyes to light up.</p><p>“That’s an excellent idea. Come on, Neville, let’s go find a Prefect.” With that the two left without even introducing themselves properly.</p><p>“Bit of a headlong running type, right Harry?” Tonks grinned getting a nod back from Harry. Without any more interruptions Tonks and Harry started their trek up and down the Hogwarts Express. Stopping in on various people Tonks knew and only introducing him as ‘Harry the Firstie’ that Tonks was showing around. By the end of the walk and return to their compartment Harry had scanned what must have been half of the students on board. He had so many new readings to compile to get an average for the students that he immediately pulled out a ballpoint pen and a piece of parchment and began writing.</p><p>“Going to be done soon, Harry?” Tonks asked with some mirth several minutes later having taken out a ‘Teen Witch Weekly’ magazine from her trunk to amuse herself as she waited.</p><p>“Almost done.” Harry replied not looking up from his parchment. Another minute or so passed before Harry looked up and spoke. “Alright, I’ve got the average for at least close to half of the students.”</p><p>“Well, don’t keep me in suspense, what is it?” Tonks asked eagerly wanting to know where she stood, Magical strength-wise, among the students.</p><p>“The average Magical strength of the students we scanned is ‘1535’ so that should be a rough estimate of the average for students when accounting for everyone from First Year to Seventh Year.” Harry stated as he looked over at Tonks with a grin. “Congratulations, Miss Tonks, you’re almost three times stronger than the average student.”</p><p>“Bloody right! Who’s the Top Dog of the school now?!” Tonks cheered as she pumped her fist happily. Harry outright laughed at her reaction. Not long after the trolley lady came by selling sweets and snacks. Both Harry and Tonks got a few things; Tonks got her favorites while Harry got a few things to try out. It was slowly turning from afternoon into early evening when the next interruption to their trip appeared. Without so much as a knock the door to their compartment was pulled open and a blonde boy around Harry’s age stood there with two larger boys standing behind him.</p><p>“I’ve heard Harry Potter’s starting this year and I’ve been looking for him. This is one of the last few compartments I’ve left to check. So are you Harry Potter?” The blonde boy asked as he looked Harry over.</p><p>“Nice to see you too, wittle cousin Drakey.” Tonks baby voiced at the blonde getting an affronted look from the boy.</p><p>“You’re no cousin of mine, Halfblood!” The blonde hissed out getting an eye roll from Tonks. While the blonde and the two large boys were focused on Tonks Harry sneakily scanned each of them. The blonde had a reading of ‘90’ while the boy on the left was an ‘82’ and the one on the right was ‘84’. Harry quickly stashed his Scouter back into his robe pocket before the blonde turned back to him. “So are you Harry Potter or not?” He asked again.</p><p>“Yes, my name is Harry Potter; might I inquire as to yours?” Harry asked politely having been taught not to antagonize people when first meeting them.</p><p>“My names Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle. You’ll soon find out that some Wizarding families are better than others. You don’t want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there.” Draco introduced himself and made his offer.</p><p>“While I appreciate your concern, Malfoy, I usually rely on my own experiences with a person to determine if they’re the ‘right sort’ or not. I think I’m keeping good company with Miss Tonks.” Harry replied getting a laugh from Tonks while Draco simply huffed.</p><p>“You’ll see I was right eventually, Potter.” Draco stated before turning and leaving taking Crabbe and Goyle with him.</p><p>“Bit of a prat that one.” Harry commented getting a nod of agreement from Tonks.</p><p>“Most definitely, unfortunately he’s my Aunt’s son so we’re related, but you can’t choose your family.” Tonks shrugged before standing up from her seat. “Now if you’d be so kind as to step out of the compartment I’d appreciate it.”</p><p>“Huh? What for?” Harry questioned as he watched Tonks rummage through her trunk in the overhead rack.</p><p>“I mean unless you want to watch me change into my robes? You are about that age I guess.” Tonks teased while giving him a wink. Harry’s face flushed bright red and he practically scrambled out of the compartment shutting the door behind him. Tonks’ laughter carried out even through the closed door.</p><p>“Tonks you’re mental.” Harry muttered as he felt his face burning hot.</p><p>“This is going to be a fun year.” Tonks chuckled as she waved her wand to lock the door and pull down the shades.</p><p>
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  <strong>So there’s chapter two! Harry meets Hagrid, gets his school supplies, and even meets a new friend on the train. Bonus that his new friend is everyone’s favorite lovable Metamorph! I simply reduced Tonks’ age by a year and she becomes a Seventh Year when Harry is a First Year. What antics will these two get up to together at Hogwarts? Keep reading to find out!</strong>
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  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Sorting, Classes, Crafting</h2></a>
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  <strong>Hello friends and fans, Kairomaru here with chapter three of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy. This chapter Harry gets to Hogwarts and gets sorted. He’ll go through some classes and make a new friend. Plus he sets himself up a private workshop/practice room in an out of the way classroom to continue his Enchanting.</strong>
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  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
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  <strong>Chapter 3 – Sorting, Classes, Crafting</strong>
</p><p>Harry disembarked from the train at Hogsmeade Station, at least Tonks said that was what the station was called, and followed the instructions Hagrid gave. He got into a boat with two girls and another boy. He didn't even really notice much about the other three soon-to-be students, far too excited to see Hogwarts for the first time. Hagrid had said in their letters that the first sight of Hogwarts was truly amazing. The gentle giant hadn’t been exaggerating, the magnificent first sight of Hogwarts truly lived up to the expectations Hagrid had given it. After getting off the boats and being led to an antechamber by a witch called Professor McGonagall they’d had a scare with actual ghosts, which Harry had felt was an interesting experience. It also made him a bit curious about how ghosts ‘worked’ for lack of a better term. Only at Hogwarts for a few minutes and already new curiosities were appearing. They were led into the Great Hall by Professor McGonagall to the looks and stares of the rest of the school. Professor McGonagall began calling off names and one by one the new students went up to the small stool with the odd singing hat to be sorted. A handful of minutes later and he had the ratty old hat on his head and was about to be sorted.</p><p>“Hmmm, how interesting.” The voice of the hat murmured into his mind, startling him a little. “You have courage, but it's a more cautious sort, more for experimenting rather than bravery. Not particularly suited for Gryffindor.”</p><p>Harry didn't really have an opinion on that, sure both of his parents had been Gryffindors, but if the magical talking hat said Gryffindor wasn't for him then that was as good a reason for not being sorted there as any he supposed. Besides, he'd been observing the Sorting so far, he had a feeling a lot of the headstrong and brash types went to Gryffindor. Intelligence didn't seem to be held in high regard in that house and stupidity could easily be mistaken for bravery. He’d seen ‘tests of courage’ done by some of the ‘rougher’ children in Primary School. Usually it ended up with the child in question getting caught trying to shoplift. Not brave, just stupid, in Harry’s opinion.</p><p>“You have ambition, and are rather cunning. You could do well in Slytherin.” The hat stated in his mind. Harry grimaced in distaste. Malfoy had gone to Slytherin and he didn’t really want to interact with the blond prat.</p><p>He knew what the hat was talking about in terms of ambition though. Harry wanted to secure his future by fixing his Family’s financial situation and by becoming stronger and more knowledgeable in Magic. With financial security came stability and with magical knowledge and power he could, theoretically, go out into the world and study all sorts of Magic. Perhaps even unravel ancient secrets or create wondrous Artifacts the world had never seen. In the meantime, there was no need to put up with people like Malfoy when there were other options available.</p><p>“Not Slytherin then.” The hat agreed, feeling Harry’s displeasure at the offer. “You’re not afraid of hard work either. Hufflepuff would be good for you. You could make friends there.”</p><p>‘I already have a friend there.’ Harry thought back. ‘But she graduates this year so there isn’t much point in going to Hufflepuff based on that.’ Harry reasoned. Other than Tonks it seemed as if most of the people of the Magical World were going to be more interested in befriending his fame rather than him.</p><p>The hat almost seemed to sigh. “I see that holds little appeal for you, very well then. You do have a good mind and want to learn, so it better be...Ravenclaw!”</p><p>Harry took the hat off his head and walked over to the table of blue and bronze, trying to ignore the loud cheering that had started after a moment of stunned silence. The other students around him went to introduce themselves with far too much enthusiasm to even pretend at being casual, but were fortunately not nearly as annoying as Malfoy had been. The last few students were sorted without incident and the Headmaster stood up to speak.</p><p>"Welcome!" Dumbledore greeted. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"</p><p>‘Why?’ Harry thought to himself, before examining the food that had suddenly appeared. That was another interesting bit of magic he’d eventually look into. A lot of it seemed to be several varieties of meat, with various vegetable dishes between the platters of meat. Harry picked out some vegetables, potatoes and a bit of steak for himself. The goblets were filled with some kind of orange liquid, but it certainly didn’t smell like orange juice. A tentative sip sent an unexpected rush of sweetness onto his tongue. Was this made from pumpkin? Who added so much sugar to pumpkin? Who decided to juice pumpkins? What was wrong with normal fruit juices? Were they not ‘magical’ enough? Thankfully there was a pitcher of water within arm’s reach and Harry was able to switch drinks. He spent the rest of the feast filling his stomach and politely declining conversation with anyone that looked at his forehead before speaking to him. The feast eventually ended and Dumbledore stood up to speak again.</p><p>"Ahem, just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.” Dumbledore started once he had everyone’s attention. "First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."</p><p>That sounded reasonable to Harry. Even a regular forest wasn’t something you should be wandering into haphazardly. If the Forbidden Forest stayed true to form for the Magical World, it was probably filled with monsters like feral werewolves, red caps, trolls, and giant spiders.</p><p>"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors." Dumbledore continued.</p><p>That was a rule Harry didn’t plan on following. He had already learned to conjure fire and water but he had no plans to stop there! He planned to conjure lightning as well since Hogwarts’ ancient stone walls were non-flammable and non-conductive. He wouldn’t be able to learn how to do that if he followed that ridiculous rule.</p><p>"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch." Dumbledore announced next. Harry knew only the basics about the sport. He knew it was played on flying brooms and that the player composition made no sense. The Seeker made every other position redundant unless the game was both very long and mostly one sided.</p><p>"And finally, I must tell you that this year the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death." Dumbledore finished up the announcements with that ominous warning. Why did that also sound like some kind of ‘important plot point’ from his fantasy books?</p><p>"But before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" Dumbledore exclaimed with a large smile. Harry didn’t even know Hogwarts had a school song.</p><p>-Ravenclaw Dorm-</p><p>Harry collapsed on his very comfortable bed, face down, and exhaled into his pillow with deep sigh. He still felt like his ears had been physically assaulted from hearing the 'school song'. Good music was hopefully not a rarity in the Magical World or else Harry would have to create a trinket or charm that could record Muggle music so that he’d have something nice to listen to. To be honest he had mixed feelings about the Magical World so far.</p><p>On the plus side, he was able to study and learn more about Magic here. There was already so much he wanted to know about and even more he wanted to breakdown to figure out how it worked. The wealth of knowledge here at Hogwarts would definitely help him achieve at least part of his goals.</p><p>On the negative side, the Magical World had almost no technology to speak of. Everything was either purely mechanical or ran on Magic, there was nothing like electricity or even batteries. Harry already knew that Magical Items couldn’t be mass produced; they were literally a work of a Magical’s mana woven and bound to a physical object. If a group tried to assembly line that it would leave you with a failed enchantment and most likely a destroyed item. But surely some Witch or Wizard somewhere had tried to make a Magical battery at some point, right? If not, then why? Surely it was possible with the right runic sequence? Those were questions for later.</p><p>But at least Ravenclaws got single rooms. Having to share a room with someone would have sucked since Harry had his own room for as long as he could remember. For now he’d put the questions aside and get some sleep. Classes started tomorrow and he wanted to be well rested for them.</p><p>The next morning the school year got started in much the same way as a non-magical one would, though with much different subjects. Harry’s thoughts on his classes varied greatly depending said subject.</p><p>Herbology wasn't something that Harry could claim any real interest in. He also wasn’t impressed by Astronomy and its old fashioned telescopes. Magic made up for a bit of the difference between the old telescopes and modern ones. However buying some newer Muggle telescopes and enchanting them would produce a far greater degree of clarity. He had quickly decided that History of Magic was either a free period or a time to do something else. Their ghostly teacher was literally quoting the book verbatim which made the class itself completely redundant. Not to mention that Binns seemed obsessively focused on the Goblin Wars, to the exclusion of the rest of their textbook in fact.</p><p>Charms class was interesting, but they hadn't done anything more than the Lumos Charm and the Color Changing Charm so far. Harry had already mastered the Lumos Charm to a degree that most adults hadn’t and wandlessly at that. The Color Changing Charm was a fun novelty but nothing more than a parlor trick by comparison to the spells Harry had already read about.</p><p>Transfiguration was equally interesting and near the end of his last class Harry had been staring at the silver needle on his desk in quiet contemplation. The other students were struggling to get even a minor change in their matchstick, while he had managed to do it on the first try. He had attempted some small wandless transfigurations after returning from Diagon Alley. It had been incredibly difficult, but Harry had hoped to be able to alter the properties of materials to make them easier to work with. Wandlessly he hadn't managed anything significant, maybe a slight change in color at best. With his wand it had been almost easy by comparison. Did his previous wandless practice accelerate his magical ability with a wand? Or was the magical focus just multiplying his meager wandless skill with this branch of Magic?</p><p>"Well done, Mr. Potter!" McGonagall had praised him sounding very impressed. "I haven't seen anyone manage their first transfiguration attempt that quickly in many years. Ten points to Ravenclaw."</p><p>"Thank you, Professor." Harry had replied. While it wasn’t actually his first try at Transfiguration he didn’t think she’d believe him if he told her he’d been practicing it wandlessly.</p><p>Then Potions had come around and Harry found out what a bad teacher looked like for the first time. He still remembered his first Potions Class. It had all gone downhill when Snape got to his name during attendance.</p><p>"Ah, yes," Snape said softly when he reached his name during roll call. "Harry Potter, our new...celebrity." Harry held back a sigh, that tone portended nothing good coming from this man. Potions Class was most likely going to become his least favorite course soon.</p><p>"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making," Snape continued in a near whisper. "As there is little foolish wand waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even stopper death. If you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."</p><p>Harry thought that speech sounded kind of rehearsed. Snape probably used it for the first class every year. He would probably use it on the Slytherin/Gryffindor class too, when they had their first class. It wasn’t a bad speech though, just a little over the top.</p><p>"Potter!" Snape called suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"</p><p>"I have no idea, sir." Harry answered. He hadn’t spent very long going over his Potions textbook. It just wasn’t as interesting to him as conjuring lightning or the myriad of other spells he could start learning. Not to mention the vast amount he was still learning about Runes and Arithmancy.</p><p>"Tut, tut, clearly fame isn't everything. Let's try again Potter..." Snape drawled.</p><p>More questions came and Harry was unable to answer any of them. Truthfully, he probably should have actually read through his Potions books, but learning how to hurl spells from his hands was a much stronger desire for him than learning about stirring a collection of odd ingredients inside a cauldron. He was an eleven year old boy, after all. With one last disdainful sneer, Snape rapidly went over the answers to the questions and instantly demanded to know why the rest of the class wasn’t writing them down.</p><p>This train of near harassment went on for the rest of the class. Snape stalked around the classroom practically glaring at every student’s cauldron as if they’d personally offended him. There was no encouragement or corrections, only yelling and point deductions, truly Snape had to be the worst teacher Harry had ever heard of. He spent the rest of the Potions Class in a bad mood. Maybe he could find some alternative to attending this particular class? Snape was clearly determined to pick on him for some reason, so actually learning anything from the man was doubtful at best and laughable at worst. Harry sighed as he left the classroom in the dungeons; the first week had been going so well until now.</p><p>“What’s got you so down today, nerd?” Tonks asked from beside him causing Harry to jump almost a foot off the bench he was sitting on in the Great Hall. Tonks’ laughter led to an embarrassed blush spreading across his face.</p><p>“Tonks! Do you really have to sneak up on me?” Harry demanded as he breathed out gustily.</p><p>“Yep!” Tonks replied with a grin. “So what’s got you all moody?”</p><p>“I think Professor Snape hates me for some reason.” Harry replied.</p><p>“To be fair, Snape hates everyone that isn’t a Slytherin, so you’re not the only one.” Tonks explained with a shrug.</p><p>“Why is he a teacher then?” Harry questioned only getting a shake of the head from Tonks in reply.</p><p>“Visiting again, Tonks?” A girl’s voice spoke from behind the two. Turning around the two came face to face with Penelope Clearwater the Ravenclaw Fifth Year Prefect.</p><p>“Yep, just checking in on Harrikins!” Tonks chuckled as she ruffled Harry’s hair.</p><p>“Oi!” Harry objected as he pulled his head away from her hand.</p><p>“While I can’t say I approve of this…‘relationship’ between a Seventh Year and a First Year, as long as you aren’t violating the rules I won’t say anything. I’m just glad Harry has at least one friend.” Penelope sighed as she looked at the two. Harry’s face was bright red in embarrassment while Tonks grinned back at her.</p><p>“He’s not my boyfriend, he’s my nerd, you’re just jealous that he likes me better!” Tonks laughed as she playfully stuck out her tongue.</p><p>“That’s fine.” Penelope sighed again. Dealing with Tonks was always an experience, though she did count the Seventh Year Hufflepuff among her friends.</p><p>“Join us for dinner Penny!” Tonks demanded as she pulled Harry into her side and motioned Penelope to take the spot beside Harry. Harry’s blushing looked to be getting to unhealthy levels as he struggled to get out of Tonks’ grip so Penelope sat down in the offered spot quickly.</p><p>“Are you alright, Harry?” Penelope asked once Tonks let the First Year out of her arms.</p><p>“I’m fine.” Harry mumbled as he looked down at his plate refusing to meet anyone’s eyes until his face wasn’t red anymore. Tonks’ snickering wasn’t helping on that front.</p><p>“That’s good. After not seeing you hang around with any of your year mates I was getting worried that you did not have any friends.” Penelope admitted. As a Prefect it was her responsibility to look after the younger students. Seeing a new First Year without any friends was worrying and Penelope felt like she needed to do something to fix the situation.</p><p>“What’re you saying, Penny? Harry’s got the two of us! We’re the best friends he could have, right Harry?” Tonks exclaimed with a wide grin.</p><p>“Yes, Tonks, thank you Tonks.” Harry mumbled quickly only to be pulled into another sideways hug by the playful Seventh Year. “Tonks! Stop it!”</p><p>“Nope!” Tonks teased as she ruffled his hair again.</p><p>“Tonks don’t harass Harry.” Penelope scolded getting the older teen to let Harry go again.</p><p>“Fine, ruin my fun.” Tonks grinned getting an eye roll from Penelope and a deadpan glare from Harry as he tried to fix his messed up hair.</p><p>The three chatted as they filled their plates with food and enjoyed their evening meal. By the end of dinner Harry definitely counted Penelope as his friend. Said Prefect smiled fondly at the First Year before both were pulled into a group hug by Tonks. Naturally there was much protesting from the Ravenclaw duo.</p><p>It was Saturday after breakfast and Harry found himself walking around the castle. He was currently looking for a place to practice his Magic. Hogwarts was large and had a plethora of empty classrooms. While he could work on most of his trinkets in the privacy of his dorm room, casting spells could potentially destroy his bed or his possessions. So here he was roaming the halls of the castle looking for an out of the way place to practice. Imagine his surprise when he came across what appeared to be an old Ancient Runes classroom. There were charts on the wall detailing various Runes and their affects. Harry looked around the room finding nothing of interest until he looked through what would be the Professor’s desk. Inside a drawer of the desk laid three wooden cases. Upon opening said cases Harry found three Rune carving kits, most likely they’d been extras for the class when it was still held in this room.</p><p>“This is great!” Harry exclaimed excitedly. He’d been convinced that he’d have to spend some of his limited funds to Owl Order a kit for himself. Both Tonks and Penelope had offered at dinner to pick one up for him on the first Hogsmeade trip of the year, but that wasn’t until near the end of October and Penelope told him the kits in Hogsmeade cost a Galleon and six Knuts. Owl Order kits cost a Galleon and three Knuts but had the standard eight Knut delivery fee added on top of that. Finding three kits in good condition would be a major boon to Harry’s crafting. Plus this room had plenty of space, it was a classroom at one point meant to house upwards of twenty students, so he could probably practice spells here too.</p><p>It was a happy Harry that made his way to dinner that evening. He’d left two of the kits in his newfound practice room and taken the third up to his dorm room. He’d immediately started looking into Rune-based locks in his Advanced Magical Crafting book. While he’d made sure to lock the room’s door a standard Alohomora would allow anyone to enter. It hadn’t taken him long to find the basics of a runic sequence meant to secure things and he’d used his new carving kit to make himself a Ward Lock. A Ward Lock was a fairly simple trinket that was made of either stone or metal. It required two pieces of either material and they had to be the same size to be paired together. The first object would be carved with the actual ward, the runic sequence that carried the effect of keeping people out. The second of the pair would be carved with the runic sequence for allowing someone to pass through the first object’s ward. When the first object was placed on a door that door became un-openable to anyone that didn’t have the ‘key’ to the ward. It didn’t stop anyone from knocking the door down or blasting it to pieces though. The other major weakness of a Ward Lock was that anyone could pick it up and move it. If you placed the Ward Object on the outside of the door it wouldn’t open, but any half-wit could figure out that taking the object off the door would remove the ward. Harry resolved himself to finishing his homework tonight so that he could attach his Ward Lock to the back of his practice room’s door tomorrow morning.</p><p>“Good evening Harry.” Penelope greeted her friend as she sat next to him for dinner. Tonks was over at the Hufflepuff table messing around with her House mates and causing much laughter. Harry knew the older teen had many friends and acquaintances but was still surprised to see just how much of her House Table she could pull into her ruckus.</p><p>“Evening Penelope.” Harry replied only to get a frown from the older girl.</p><p>“Harry I told you we’re friends now, you can call me Penny.” Penelope reminded him.</p><p>“Right, sorry, good evening Penny.” Harry corrected with a small smile. It was nice having some friends.</p><p>“Much better. Potatoes?” Penelope smiled as she offered him the large serving spoon.</p><p>“Yes, thank you.” Harry smiled back as he took the spoon and put some potatoes on his plate. The two engaged in mild chatting for the rest of the meal, mostly about how his classes were going. Just like Tonks, Penelope had no recommendations for dealing with Snape. The man was just dour all the time and unpleasant at the best of times. Dinner finished with a wonderful dessert, treacle tart for Harry, before they were all ushered back to their Common Rooms for the evening. A couple of hours later a satisfied Harry climbed into bed with all of his homework completed.</p><p>The next morning Harry had gotten dressed for the day and headed down to breakfast. Tonks was apparently having a lie in as he didn’t see her in the hall. Penelope was comforting another first year, Mandy if Harry remembered right, who was still hit with bouts of homesickness from time to time. A quick meal and Harry was walking out of the hall towards his practice room. He’d only gotten a few steps out of the Great Hall when a thought occurred to him. Even if he installed his Ward Lock on the practice room door any student who came across the un-openable door would most likely become curious about it. With a moment of thought Harry altered his course to his dorm room. Once in the privacy of his room he quickly opened his trunk and opened one of the expanded space drawers. Inside were dozens of stones he’d collected from Privet Drive and brought with him to use as testing material for new trinkets. Many simple trinkets and talismans could be made simply by carving the proper runic sequence into stone of the right size and shape. Metal also worked well for this purpose but until his Transfiguration skills increased, or he found a way to safely make a forge of his own somewhere in the school, he had no way to shape more metal. He was saving his last five metal bars from the summer day camp to make more Scouters later.</p><p>Quickly picking out a proper stone Harry took it over to his desk and opened his carving kit. Pulling out the etching tool he proceeded to carve the necessary runes into the stone to turn it into another Hiding Stone. Thirty minutes later and with some twine now tied around it, the new Hiding Stone was finished and ready to be used. Taking it with him Harry made his way to the practice room. Standing in front of the door Harry grinned at his own idea. Taking his new Hiding Stone from his robe pocket he hung it from the door handle and smiled when he noticed the slight glow the stone gave off. That meant it was fulfilling its purpose of hiding the door. The glow quickly faded and now the door would be less noticeable to all but Harry. Unless the person in question was actively looking for this particular door it wouldn’t be any more interesting to them than a blank section of the wall. Unlocking the door with a quick Alohomora, wandlessly at that, Harry entered his practice room and tied the Ward Lock to the inside handle of the door with more twine. A few quick tests to make sure the Ward Lock was working properly and Harry was laughing at his new personal room in Hogwarts.</p><p>That night Harry was walking to dinner a little early having spent a good chunk of the day practicing his Wandless Magic. He had made some progress with his Transfiguration but still nowhere near enough to use it to help shape materials for enchanting. The control and precision required for Transfiguration was going to annoy him until he got it right. But his Charms were coming along well enough he’d gotten both the Unlocking Charm, Alohomora, and the All Purpose Counter Spell, Finite Incantatem, to work wandlessly. He was still constantly practicing all of his Magic of course. It never paid to be lazy, as both Vernon and Petunia had told him and Dudley growing up. He was slowly making his way through the First Year curriculum for spells and the library was a wealth of interesting new spells just waiting to be learned and mastered.</p><p>Harry noticed upon turning a corner that a few Professors were currently making their way towards the Great Hall as well. Seeing as they hadn’t noticed him Harry simply couldn’t resist. Pulling his Scouter out of his robe pocket he placed it over his right eye and scanned the first Professor.</p><p>A ‘10112’ almost had Harry stumbling over his own feet. Who would have guessed that Professor Flitwick had so much mana? He’d heard that his Head of House used to be a professional duelist but he’d honestly expected Hagrid’s ‘7062’ to be near the top of the mana rankings.</p><p>A quick turn of the lens and Professor Vector, the Arithmancy teacher, was scanned. The ‘5994’ on the lens seemed respectable for a witch that was loved by her students for her calm demeanor and patient instruction.</p><p>The next Professor, Sprout, came in with a ‘6104’ and Harry didn’t have much thoughts on the mana amount of the Herbology Professor. He still didn’t have much aptitude for her class and honestly he doubted he ever would.</p><p>The group of Professors passed through the doorway into the Great Hall and Harry slowly walked his way towards the door. Just as he was standing in the doorway he glanced up at the head table. Seeing both Snape and Dumbledore already sitting down Harry carefully stayed out of sight and scanned them. Snape, his least favorite Professor by far, was first. Harry nearly choked on his saliva when ‘10848’ showed up on the lens. How the bloody hell did Snape have more mana than a former professional duelist? Any fantasy of a direct confrontation with Snape was quickly tossed from Harry’s mind. Until he got stronger, much stronger, magically Snape was far out of his league.</p><p>With a quick gulp Harry finally turned his Scouter onto Headmaster Dumbledore. He didn’t even attempt to keep up with the rapidly growing number on the lens and simply waited for it to stop climbing. He had to grab onto the wall to steady himself when the absurd number of ‘41310’ stopped on the lens. What in the actual hell was Dumbledore?! How could someone have such a high amount of mana? It was four times what a professional duelist like Flitwick had! What kind of outlier was the Headmaster? There were a dozen more questions already running through Harry’s mind as he stowed his Scouter away in his robe pocket. He wished that a way to quantify mana had been created centuries or even a millennium ago, just so famous Magicals from the past could have had their amounts recorded. Harry wondered how Dumbledore would compare to the Four Founders of Hogwarts, or how the Headmaster and Merlin would match up. Unfortunately no one would ever know the answer. Harry wondered briefly if his lessons and extracurricular practicing had increased his mana at all. He’d have to build a self-scanner like his first clay prototype to be able to measure his own mana again.</p><p>It was Tuesday evening and Harry was in the library looking up information for his Defense Against the Dark Arts homework. There was another class that Harry disliked. Professor Quirrel’s stutter made it almost impossible to follow what the man was trying to teach. Not to mention the overpowering smell of garlic that hung about the room. Harry had already taken to mostly self-study in the course just to look up spells. Grabbing a book that should give him enough information to finish his essay Harry walked towards the tables set up for students to study at. He noticed that a few tables were occupied by upper years and two were occupied by first years. The closest table of the two had the bushy haired girl from the train sitting by herself with a stack of no less than eight books next to her. The farther table had two members of his own House sitting together, Mandy Brocklehurst and Padma Patil. Deciding it couldn’t hurt to learn the name of the other girl Harry made his way over to her table.</p><p>“Mind if I sit here?” Harry asked getting the Gryffindor girl to startle slightly.</p><p>“Oh, um, yes of course.” The girl replied once she realized someone had addressed her.</p><p>“Thanks.” Harry said before setting his book down and getting out his quill and parchment. It had taken him weeks but he could finally write with a quill up to his own standards of penmanship. He still took notes on notebook paper and used a ballpoint pen for it, but he was finally able to turn in neatly written assignments and essays done by quill now. “I’m Harry by the way, Harry Potter.”</p><p>“I’m Hermione Granger, nice to meet you.” Hermione introduced herself before continuing to speak. “I’ve read about you, you know. You’re in ‘Modern Magical History’, ‘Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century’, and ‘The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts’.”</p><p>“I wouldn’t believe most of it.” Harry sighed as he opened his book. “If you believe everything that’s said about me then I’ve also ridden Dragons at age five and fought Werewolves and Vampires across Europe when I was nine.”</p><p>“Oh, that’s quite outlandish isn’t it?” Hermione asked with a grimace.</p><p>“Yeah, I’d only just discovered my magic when I was eight. So I don’t know who thought I was riding Dragons and all the other stuff.” Harry shook his head in exasperation. “So what are you reading?”</p><p>“Oh just some extra books for classes.” Hermione replied as she patted her stack.</p><p>“Ok, but do you really need that many? We only have six classes right now.” Harry stated as he looked at the stack of books.</p><p>“It’s just a bit of light reading.” Hermione responded with a nod. “Unfortunately none of my House mates feel the same way about our studies. So I’ve…” She trailed off into mumbling that Harry couldn’t make out.</p><p>“What was that last bit?” Harry asked after finishing the sentence he’d been writing. “I’m afraid I didn’t catch it.”</p><p>“I said I haven’t been able to make any friends.” Hermione muttered lowly while looking down at the table.</p><p>“Well I’m no expert on making friends but it could be you aren’t looking in the right place.” Harry replied getting Hermione to look up at him in surprise.</p><p>“What do you mean?” Hermione questioned.</p><p>“Wait right here and I can probably show you.” Harry answered as he stood up and made his way over to his two House mates. “Hey Padma, Mandy, how are you two this evening?”</p><p>“Hey Harry, I’m good.” Mandy replied with a nod and a smile.</p><p>“Doing some studying.” Padma motioned at their four books.</p><p>“I see, do you think you could help me out? You see the girl at the table I’m sitting at?” Harry asked getting Padma and Mandy to look over for a moment before turning back to Harry and nodding. “She’s a rather studious Gryffindor and because of that she hasn’t been able to make a single friend so far. I was hoping we could help her out and show her that not everyone in the castle is put off by being a good student.”</p><p>“Why isn’t she in Ravenclaw with us then?” Mandy asked already standing up and gathering her books.</p><p>“Why would she end up in Gryffindor of all Houses?” Padma questioned also gathering her books.</p><p>“No idea, but I think a few friends that are both good students and sociable will do her a world of good.” Harry responded with a smile which both girls returned. The trio made their way over to where Hermione was still sitting getting the bushy haired girl’s eyes to widen.</p><p>Introductions were quickly made and Hermione was practically hugged by both Ravenclaw girls when she’d told them of her lack of friends in Gryffindor House. Within the span of their near two hour study session the three girls and Harry had all become friendly with each other. Hermione’s beaming smile as she, Mandy, and Padma set up another study date together could have blinded someone. With a smile of his own Harry left the library with his homework finished and followed along behind Mandy and Padma back towards Ravenclaw Tower.</p><p>‘You did some good today, Harry old boy.’ Harry praised himself mentally as the trio neared the bronze knocker that guarded the Ravenclaw Common Room. While Padma and Mandy were distracted by answering the knocker’s riddle Harry managed a quick scan of both girls. Mandy had a mana amount of ‘118’ and Padma had a ‘114’ both girls were about average among all the First Years Harry had been able to scan so far.</p><p>It was October thirtieth and Harry was in his practice room going over his spell repertoire and looking over his in-progress trinkets. Things had gone well in the almost two months he’d been at Hogwarts. He’d made close friends in Tonks and Penelope while having friends in Hermione, Mandy, Padma, and Hagrid of course. Draco was becoming a bit of a pest but thankfully Slytherin and Ravenclaw only shared two classes a week. Looking over his current work Harry smiled at having completed another self-scanner. This one was made from stone thanks to Tonks transfiguring it for him. She’d been curious about why he wanted a stone frame but he’d just told her it was a secret and she’d sworn to get him to tell her before she left for the Yule Break. Now having the means to measure his own mana again Harry started pouring his mana into the frame and watched as the number made of light within the frame increased. When it finally stopped Harry whooped with joy at the number displayed. After all ‘364’ was just under a hundred more mana than he’d had before term had started.</p><p>“Now that I know this works and it didn’t get damaged from use I guess I should give this invention a name too.” Harry smiled as he looked over the Rune carved stone frame. “Maybe another acronym? It could become my thing.” He chortled to himself as he thought it over. After five minutes of thinking he announced his self-scanner’s name, at least to himself. “Transfigured Energy Scanning Talisman or T.E.S.T. for short, I wonder if I can market this as well? ‘Get your Test Frame and discover your own Magical strength.’ Sounds like an acceptable marketing line.” Harry chuckled as he set the frame down on the Professor’s desk he’d appropriated for his work table. He’d talked to both Penelope and Tonks about possibly starting up an Owl Order business. Even underage children could do business through the Owl Order service. Since Owl Order took care of all business operations and costs of shipping said products with their massive flock of highly trained owls anybody could sell through them. The company took ten percent of the profit as their share but for Harry any money coming in would be worth it.</p><p>Penelope’s reaction when he’d showed her his Scouter and explained its function had been more than amusing. Tonks had almost fallen over from laughing so hard. But the Prefect had agreed that if he could make enough of them that he’d be practically guaranteed to one day be approached by some big names looking to sponsor him as an Enchanter. That suited Harry just fine, he’d get to continue crafting and honing his skills and one day he’d create a true Artifact and earn the title Artificer. Incidentally Tonks’ smug smile at getting her updated mana reading when Penelope got her first was amusing as the two girls playfully jibed at each other over their numbers. Tonks’ new reading had gone up to ‘4776’ while Penelope had a reading of ‘2812’. He’d also learned that Tonks was a Metamorphmagus during the course of the conversation when Penelope had brought it up and the Seventh Year had demonstrated for Harry. That had set his curiosity into overdrive for a few moments and Tonks had laughed herself silly at his multitude of questions. His curiosity had gotten completely derailed however when Tonks had made a lewd innuendo about Harry wanting to ‘examine’ her. Penelope had scolded the older girl while Harry had tried to hide his furiously blushing face.</p><p>Harry chuckled at the memory of his fun loving friend and locked up his practice room, or was it a workshop now? Heading up to Ravenclaw Tower with confirmation that his mana was increasing would see Harry getting a good sleep tonight. Penelope was helping him write up a promotional ad for the sale of his four new Scouters for the Owl Order service. Technically he’d made five but he was keeping the fifth one hidden in his workshop/practice room in case the one he was currently using was ever broken. After discussing it with Tonks, Penelope, and even Hagrid they’d settled on a price of ten Galleons for each Scouter. It was on the high end, price-wise, for an Owl Order item but as soon as people found out it was not only made by Harry Potter but what it was capable of there would be no end of people wanting one.</p><p>The next evening the Halloween Feast was in full swing. Decorations were all over the Great Hall and almost everyone was in a festive mood. Harry was sitting between Penelope and Mandy and enjoying the Feast. While it was the anniversary of his parent’s deaths he’d never known them and had done what little mourning he was capable of long ago. From the way Hagrid had described his parents to him he was fairly certain that both would rather he enjoy himself with friends on this day instead of mourning them. He could see Tonks over at the Hufflepuff table putting on a show with her Metamorph abilities getting cheers from her House mates. Just over halfway through the Feast Professor Quirrel had barged into the Great Hall screaming about a Troll in the dungeons before promptly falling into a dead faint. The cacophony that had created had taken three loud blasts from Dumbledore’s wand to silence. The Headmaster had instructed the various Prefects to lead the rest of the students back to their Common Rooms while the teachers went to deal with the Troll. As the large mass of students began to move Mandy had caught up to Harry and told him of Hermione’s absence from the Feast. According to Padma’s sister Parvati, an insensitive Gryffindor named Ron Weasley had insulted Hermione and she’d run off crying. Padma and Mandy had both tried to talk Hermione out of the bathroom she’d been holed up in and had only left after Hermione had promised she’d come to the feast later.</p><p>“Well shite, I’ll try to let a Professor know, go with the others and tell Penelope where I am.” Harry told Mandy as he dashed off in the direction the Professors had headed in. Less than a minute later and Harry wasn’t sure he’d be able to catch up to the Professors at all. So the next best thing was to go up to the bathroom that Hermione was in and take her to Ravenclaw Tower until the Troll was dealt with. Rushing up the stairs Harry sprinted down the corridors until he almost gagged on the foul stench coming from ahead of him.</p><p>“Ack! What the bloody hell is that smell?!” Harry coughed as he rounded the corner to the corridor that Hermione was supposedly in. “Oh right, Trolls are supposed to smell horrible.” Harry muttered to himself as he watched the large grey-skinned beast lumber into the bathroom in shock. A moment later a scream tore through the air and Harry was moving before he could think. Shoving the door open Harry was met with the sight of destroyed bathroom stalls and Hermione trying to hide under the sinks. The Troll, Mountain Troll if the books he’d bought on Hagrid’s recommendation were correct, turned to look towards the banging door as Harry caught Hermione’s eyes.</p><p>“Harry?!” Hermione cried out in panic, the Troll slowly turning to look at her again when she yelled.</p><p>“Don’t worry Hermione! I’m going to get you out of here!” Harry yelled with more confidence than he felt. The Troll growled as it turned back towards Harry as he yelled. With a grunt the Troll hefted up its large wooden club and prepared to swing it down on Harry. He wasn’t about to let that happen though. With a crack a ball of fire appeared in Harry’s right hand. He chucked the fireball at the wooden club causing the dried wood to catch fire. The Troll suddenly feeling the heat of its club looked up at the flaming wood and bellowed in surprise. The large, smelly beast tossed the club away from itself in panic and stared at the flames in confusion. While the Troll was distracted Harry motioned for Hermione to crawl towards him. She hesitated for a moment before slowly crawling towards her friend, just as Hermione was crawling out from under the last sink the Troll spotted her and tried to grab her.</p><p>“No you don’t!” Harry yelled conjuring up five Lumos orbs in front of the Trolls face. The orbs went from slightly bright in the lit up bathroom to blinding in an instant as Harry poured his mana into his spell. The Troll roared in pain as it covered its eyes and tried to swat the orbs of light away. Hermione rapidly ran to Harry and tried to cling to him. “Out the door Hermione!” Harry ordered as he pushed her towards the closed bathroom door.</p><p>“What about you?” Hermione asked only to get pushed harder towards the door.</p><p>“I’m following you, of course!” Harry stated as the Troll recovered its eyesight only for Harry to make the Lumos orbs flash brightly again. The beast roared again trying to swat at the orbs, but light had no mass and the Troll couldn’t destroy the orbs by hitting them. Hermione wrenched open the bathroom door and held it open for Harry who slowly backed up and exited the bathroom. Just as the door closed Harry shifted his Lumos orbs through the color spectrum making each of the five orbs a different color. After the door clicked into place Harry began to switch each orb from normal brightness to blinding one by one, over and over again. Keeping this light show spell going from a distance was taxing, much more than Harry thought it would be as he felt his mana decreasing.</p><p>“Harry, we should run!” Hermione stated as she grabbed his arm and tried to drag him away.</p><p>“I’d love that, Hermione, but if I move from this spot I won’t be able to keep the spell going.” The confused roars and bellows of the Troll in the bathroom were a testament that Harry’s spell was keeping the beast disorientated. “If you could get the Professors over here as soon as possible I’d greatly appreciate it.”</p><p>“I can’t just leave you! We should just run!” Hermione practically begged as she stared at the door of the bathroom.</p><p>“Once the spell stops the Troll is going to be enraged and it’ll break out of the bathroom. If it does that there is no telling where it’ll charge off to. That’s why I need to keep the spell going while you get the Professors here.” Harry tried to explain calmly but some strain seeped into his voice from having to split his focus between Hermione and his spell.</p><p>“Mr. Potter?! Ms. Granger?!” McGonagall exclaimed as she came charging around the corner with Flitwick and Snape in tow. “What on Earth are you doing here?!”</p><p>“Hermione was in the bathroom, didn’t know about the Troll, I came to get her and take her to Ravenclaw Tower. Troll walked into the bathroom before I could get here and tried to kill Hermione. I’m distracting it with a variation of the Lumos Charm, but I can’t keep it going for long.” Harry hurriedly explained as the Troll’s bellows could be heard echoing from the bathroom.</p><p>“Move aside, Mr. Potter, we’ll handle it from here.” Flitwick stated a look on his face Harry had never seen before. He looked like a man that knew he was going to have to do something unpleasant.</p><p>“Yes sir.” Harry nodded as he moved aside and cancelled his spell. The three Professors opened the bathroom door and were able to see five differently colored orbs of light for a moment before they disappeared. The Troll, still covering its eyes, stood huddled in the far corner as if to escape the painful flashes of light.</p><p>The situation was resolved in a matter of moments after the door was opened. A single spell from each of the three Professors had the Troll knocked unconscious, bound up in chains, and sedated completely before the beast even fell to the floor. Snape and McGonagall approached the beast as Flitwick went to console the two students. The events afterwards were a bit of a blur for Harry, probably because he was suffering from a sudden drop in his mana from keeping his spell going for an extended period of time. But he and Hermione had explained why she was in the bathroom, McGonagall was already planning out Ron Weasley’s punishment at that very moment, and how Harry had come to try and get her to safety after not being able to find the Professors. Harry lost points for his House at first but ended up with a net gain of twenty points after Flitwick and McGonagall were done. It was only after being taken back to Ravenclaw Tower, getting scolded by Penelope while she was hugging the life out of him, and finally getting to sleep for the night that Harry realized some very important details from his and Hermione’s encounter with the Troll.</p><p>Shortly after waking up Harry continued to lie in bed going over last night’s incident. He’d read about Mountain Trolls in the books Hagrid had recommended. He and the gentle giant had even had a discussion about them along with various other Magical Beasts over the couple of visits where Harry had gone down to Hagrid’s hut for tea. So there were a couple things that stood out as strange to Harry as he laid in bed thinking. Firstly, Mountain Trolls were known to be dumber than most dog breeds so how could one just wander into Hogwarts? Secondly, while Hogwarts was near some mountains, said mountains were still dozens of kilometers away from the school grounds so why would a Mountain Troll go walking so far from its territory? Thirdly, and most suspiciously to Harry, the Troll was wearing a vest and loin cloth. Mountain Trolls frequently walked around naked in the wild, but this one had roughly sewn and stitched clothing. Having learned how to stitch and sew himself Harry had spotted the rather well fitting vest and the loin cloth that was tight on the Troll’s waist to keep it from falling off. Trolls couldn’t even make fire for themselves, much less tan leather and sew it into clothing. That could only mean that the Troll was provided those clothes and if that was the case then that Troll wasn’t wild. Somebody was taking care of it, somebody who had most likely let it loose into a school full of children.</p><p>Harry really hoped his feeling of ‘turning point in the story’ was wrong as he was once again reminded of his fantasy books from his Primary School library.</p><p>Unfortunately, he didn’t think he was wrong at all.</p><p>
  <strong>-End Chapter-</strong>
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  <strong>So there’s chapter three! Harry meets and befriends Penelope Clearwater, Hermione, Mandy and Padma. He also sets up his own personal space in Hogwarts to work on his Enchanting. Plus he deals with the Troll situation on Halloween completely differently. How will Harry’s new Owl Order business work out? Will Harry figure out what’s in the Third Floor Corridor? What happens on Christmas this year? Keep on reading to find out!</strong>
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  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Crafting, Corridors, Teaching?</h2></a>
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  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! What will become of Harry’s musings about the Troll? Will he start becoming interested in the third floor corridor? What will Christmas look like for him this year?</strong>
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  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
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  <strong>Chapter 4 – Crafting, Corridors, Teaching?</strong>
</p><p>Harry could say with some certainty that people would buy anything that seemed interesting to them quickly, based on how fast his four Scouters had sold and the thirty six Galleons had gotten sent to him from the Owl Order Service. He’d have to come up with a Rune-based safe to store his newfound gold in soon. But it had been a rousing success for his new Owl Order business. He was already having Penelope help him write up an advert for his Test Frame talisman. Tonks had kept her word about finding out what he’d wanted the stone frame for. He still blushed remembering the energetic Metamorphmagus kissing his cheeks in front of Penny until he’d told her what she wanted to know. Penny’s scolding hadn’t done much to stop their mutual friend from her ‘interrogation’ either.</p><p>It was November now and for the first time Harry had people to think about getting Christmas presents for. He’d already decided on what he was getting for Tonks and Penny, he had a good idea for Hagrid as well. But something for Padma, Mandy and Hermione hadn’t come to him just yet. He was currently sitting in his hidden workshop early Saturday morning and knitting. He’d ordered wool yarn in various colors for this particular project. Dark blue and bronze for Penny, while bright yellow and black for Tonks. So he was knitting his two close friends a full set of knit hats, scarves and mittens for the quickly encroaching winter. It was slightly difficult to make a charmed set of clothing, but Harry was weaving his mana into the wool yarn as he knitted it together. Being able to knit the girls’ initials into the striped pattern had been difficult as he’d had to use trial and error until he got it right. Stitching a round wooden button onto each end and carving the appropriate runes would see the scarves capable of maintaining their own Warming Charm for extended periods of time. Repeat the wooden button on each mitten and on top of the knit hat and Tonks and Penny wouldn’t have to worry about the cold much at all.</p><p>“Hope they like these.” Harry mumbled to himself as he continued his work. He’d finish up the hats before heading down for lunch later.</p><p>The next morning was incredibly surprising for Harry. As soon as the Daily Prophet was delivered he noticed that there was an article about him on the bottom of the front page. Everyone else that had a subscription to the newspaper also took notice and more than a few eyes were already gazing at him.</p><p>-Daily Prophet Article-</p><p>Boy-Who-Lived Creates Magical Strength Measuring Device!</p><p>It has come to the attention of this newsman that Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, has created an Enchanted Object capable of measuring a Witch or Wizard’s Magical Strength! The device, called a Scouter, can read the amount of Magic a person has and display it as a numerical number! For centuries no one among even the greatest of Magical Scholars has ever agreed on a solid measurement for Magic. But somehow Magical Britain’s own Boy-Who-Lived has found a way! I was lucky enough to know one of the people who purchased one of the four devices up for sale. The device only needs to be directed at the Wizard or Witch before a small amount of magic is supplied to it for it to measure the person in questions Magical Strength. My friend, who wishes to remain anonymous, had a reading of ‘2758’ when I used the device to measure them. My own reading came in slightly higher at ‘3176’ and I believe these to be rather average numbers as neither of us makes our living off of our spell work.</p><p>The ability to actually measure Magic has been contested for centuries and no doubt young Mr. Potter will have to prove his device’s accuracy to some of the leading minds of the Magical World before it is fully accepted. But the certainty of a numerical value is something to focus on and could give those who want to become magically stronger a place to start. Mr. Potter has certainly made waves in the Magical community with his first foray into professional Enchanting. I believe we can all look forward to many years of interesting items coming from the young man.</p><p>The Potter Family, while not Noble, has a rather long history stretching back to the twelfth century and has been historically known for producing no less than six Artificers in that time. The last Potter Artificer was Richard Potter, whom Historians will know as the Artificer that created the Platform Nine and Three Quarters Archway. This Artifact, commissioned by then Minister of Magic, Evangeline Orpington, has kept the Platform from being discovered by Muggles since Eighteen Fifty when it was installed there by Richard Potter. The Archway is near indestructible and requires no maintenance as it draws its power from the magic that comes from the ley lines deep beneath the earth. It remains to be seen if young Mr. Potter will one day create a true Artifact of his own and become the next Artificer from the Potter Family, but this newsman believes he just might since his first professional work is already such a revolutionary creation.</p><p>Barnabas Cuffe, Editor, Daily Prophet</p><p>-End Article-</p><p>Harry stared wide eyed in shock at the article on the front page of the paper. This must be what Hagrid had warned him about when it came to his fame. The Editor of the Daily Prophet himself had written about his Scouter when they’d only been sold for less than a week. He’d underestimated how famous his name actually was since he hadn’t been outed in Diagon Alley. There was a faint murmuring from the students in the Great Hall that was steadily growing louder as more and more students read the article and started looking at Harry.</p><p>“Back off you lot!” Tonks voice came from behind Harry prompting him to turn around and see his friend holding back a large crowd of students. Penny quickly joined her as the students started trying to shout questions at Harry.</p><p>“Calm down! This behavior is inappropriate in the Great Hall!” Penny was shouting over the crowd of students. This ruckus was quickly noticed by the Professors and Dumbledore raised his wand aloft before firing a Cannon Blast spell to get everyone’s attention. Once all eyes were on the Headmaster he began to speak.</p><p>“Students I understand the excitement of today’s Daily Prophet but this conduct will not be permitted. If you’d like to speak with Mr. Potter you must remain calm and mind your manners. If he is willing to speak about his creation I’m sure we can make some time this morning since it is Sunday.” Dumbledore calmly spoke getting several Prefects moving to get their own Housemates back to their tables. Harry noticed that Percy Weasley, the Fifth Year Gryffindor Prefect according to Penny, was physically pulling his younger twin brothers, Fred and George, back to the Gryffindor table while threatening to tell their mother about the twins’ behavior.</p><p>“What should I do about this? I’ll be hounded every second of every day at this rate.” Harry asked his two close friends.</p><p>“You might want to take the Headmaster up on his offer and just use this time in the Great Hall to get it over with.” Penny offered her opinion.</p><p>“It would at least get most of them off your back.” Tonks nodded in agreement. Harry sighed but accepted his friends’ suggestion. Better to rip the band aid off quickly and get it over with. Harry finished his breakfast before making his way up to the Head Table with Penny and Tonks at his side.</p><p>“Headmaster, if it’s alright with you and the rest of the Professors I’d like to take you up on your offer of answering some questions this morning. I think it might be best to just get this out of the way so that everyone can focus back on their schoolwork sooner.” Harry explained getting a few smiles or grins from some of the Professors. Dumbledore nodded with a smile before standing up.</p><p>“Students, Mr. Potter has kindly agreed to answer some questions for your curiosity this morning once breakfast is over. If you have a question you’d like to ask during that time the Professors would like you to remain calm and raise your hand and wait to be called upon. This will be kept civil and if anyone gets out of hand their Head of House will see that the student in question is punished accordingly. Thank you for your attention.” Dumbledore explained before sitting back down.</p><p>“I’ll need to go get something to make this explanation easier, Headmaster. Might I have permission to get my item so that in the likely event that the students want their own readings I can quickly provide them?” Harry asked getting a nod from Dumbledore. Harry thanked the old man before leaving the Great Hall with Penny and Tonks. He led his close friends towards his hidden workshop and chuckled at their surprised gasps as he removed the Hiding Stone from the door bringing it back into their focus.</p><p>“I so want one of those!” Tonks exclaimed only for Harry to shake his head in mirth.</p><p>“You can’t put one on your bedroom door and hide from your parents. As soon as they wanted to find you they’d want to find your bedroom by necessity. That would let them force their way pass the Hiding Stone’s ability. Like I said it isn’t incredibly strong or anything, it just makes things less noticeable.” Harry explained getting a pout from Tonks which caused Penny and Harry to laugh slightly. Leading the girls into the workshop Harry quickly grabbed a few thin planks of wood he’d managed to make from wood Hagrid collected from the Forbidden forest. It annoyed him that he still needed to use his wand to use the Cutting Charm with any precision; wandlessly it was always overpowered and sliced the wood through completely. With four small planks chosen Harry set about carving the self-destruction sequence Ollivander had passed on to him. He used some glue to stick the planks onto all four sides of his Test Frame so that the two runic sequences came into physical contact which primed the self-destruction sequence. If anyone attempted to pull the wooden planks off the edge of the stone frame the self-destruction sequence would activate and destroy both sets of runes. A quick spell to instantly dry the glue was provided by Penny and Harry picked up the Test Frame and walked out of his hidden workshop with the girls. Harry had Tonks and Penny put their hands on the Hiding Stone as he placed it back on the door handle. The three watched the stone glow briefly before it stopped and Harry grinned when he noticed that both girls could still notice the door normally.</p><p>“Did the two of us touching the stone make it exempt us from its effect?” Penny asked curiously as she looked at the door with the trinket on the handle.</p><p>“Yes, the Hiding Stone doesn’t affect the one who placed it. Since all three of us placed it on the door you two are now the only other people that will notice this door normally. You won’t be able to get in without me unless you knock down the door though. But you’ll know where to look for me if you need to find me.” Harry explained with a smile. Both girls smiled back at Harry happy that he was willing to bring them into the know about his secret workshop. The trio quickly made their way back to the Great Hall and quickly realized that everyone was still there waiting for Harry to speak.</p><p>“You’ll do fine Harry, just take a few questions and it’ll be over soon.” Penny encouraged.</p><p>“Yeah, I bet most of them just want to know their own reading, so you’ll just have to give them their numbers.” Tonks grinned.</p><p>“Thanks you two.” Harry sighed as he walked to the front of the Great Hall when Dumbledore motioned for him. Standing in front of the whole school was a bit nerve wracking but Harry swallowed his nervousness and began this impromptu presentation.</p><p>“You may begin whenever you feel ready, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore gave him the go ahead.</p><p>“So as you all know from the Prophet today I’m a bit of a burgeoning Enchanter. My first professionally sold item is called a Scouter.” Harry started off while pulling out his Scouter. “This lens when focused on a Wizard or Witch will give me a reading on their total amount of mana, which is a term I use for Magical Energy. The more mana a Magical has the stronger they are from a magical standpoint.” At that a few hands were already raised and Harry picked one near the back. “Yes, the Hufflepuff in the back, you have a question?”</p><p>“Yes, my name’s Forrest Prott, I was wondering how you decided to actually measure Magic? No one has ever agreed on an accurate way.” Forrest asked which prompted another four hands to lower as he had apparently asked their question.</p><p>“I used the Lumos Charm as the base. I just kept using less and less mana to cast it until I found out the absolute minimum amount required to get the spell to work.” Harry answered the same way he’d answered Tonks back on the Hogwarts Express. “I then designated that bare minimum as equal to one unit of mana. As far as I’m aware that is the least amount of mana that can produce a successful spell.”</p><p>“Oh, that makes sense; I see how that works out for measurement.” Forrest nodded before sitting back down. Harry looked around noticing the hands still raised, he picked one close to the front this time. “The Slytherin in front, what do you want to ask?”</p><p>“My name’s Emilia Hawthorn, I’ll just ask what most everybody is probably going to ask anyway. Can we get our own mana, as you call it, measured today?” Harry noticed almost every hand lowering at Emilia’s question.</p><p>“That’s why I brought this.” Harry replied as he held up his Test Frame. “This is the next product I plan to sell after I make enough of them. I call it a Test Frame. It’s a talisman that allows a person to measure their own mana by holding it and pushing their mana into it like you would your wand.” The excitement in the room increased dramatically and Harry watched it spread on all the student’s faces. He turned back to look at the Head Table before making an offer. “If you’d like I’d be willing to make one for each of the Hogwarts Houses. They could be kept in the Common Rooms so that any student can measure their mana whenever they’d like.” All of the Professors smiled at Harry’s offer. Barring Snape, who never smiled, and Quirrel who was still twitchy and looking around nervously.</p><p>“Hogwarts would be proud to accept such a donation, Mr. Potter. I thank you on behalf of all the staff for your generosity.” Dumbledore smiled kindly as Harry nodded while doing everything he could to keep the red from his cheeks. Turning back towards the students Harry motioned for Tonks and Penny to come up and then picked out six more students. When all eight students stood up front with him there were two Ravenclaws, two Hufflepuffs, two Slytherins and two Gryffindors. Neither pair was from the same year so that students would be able to see the range difference that was possible between people even if they were only a couple years apart in age.</p><p>“Tonks, would you do the honors? Show everyone how it works.” Harry asked as he handed her the Test Frame.</p><p>“Gotcha, Harry!” Tonks grinned as she directed her mana into the frame. When her number appeared she grinned before turning the frame around to show the students. The glowing ‘4812’ was easily visible to everyone in the hall. Tonks handed the Test Frame over to Penny who quickly got her own reading. The Prefect smiled happily at her number before showing it to the hall, it read ‘3006’. The next student accepted the frame from Penny he was a Gryffindor in his sixth year if Harry had to guess. It only took a moment of trying before the teen got the frame to work and showed his reading to the hall as well, a glowing ‘3456’. The next student was Emilia Hawthorn herself. She poured her mana into the frame and watched as the numbers climbed. When they stopped she gave a small grin before showing the hall the ‘3628’ inside the frame. Emilia handed the frame over to the younger Slytherin beside her. The boy was only a second year and got a reading of ‘412’ which he showed to the hall.</p><p>“This is so cool!” Exclaimed the Gryffindor boy that got the frame next, he was practically vibrating in excitement. Harry thought he was probably a second year too. A glowing ‘384’ was showed to the hall before he passed it over to the Ravenclaw girl that stood next to Penny. The girl in question was a fourth year by the name of Elise Spindle. With a smile of her own she activated the frame and showed everyone her ‘964’. The last person to hold the frame was a Hufflepuff called Cedric Diggory. The teen smiled as he poured his mana into the frame and happily showed his reading to everyone, he’d clocked in at a rather impressive ‘1154’. Before handing it back to Harry Cedric gave his thanks for being chosen to demonstrate.</p><p>“As you can see Magical strength varies greatly between individuals. How much you practice will affect your growth and age often leads to higher numbers.” Harry explained as he held the Test Frame.</p><p>“How much do you have?” called one of the Weasley Twins before Percy could stop him.</p><p>“Hmm, it’s been a little while since I checked, but I practice a lot in my free time so I think I’m a bit higher than normal.” Harry shrugged as he poured his mana into the frame. Looking down at it for a moment Harry turned it around and showed the glowing ‘406’. “Anyway, now that you all know how it works I’ll leave the Test Frame on the Head Table in front of the Headmaster. Just form a line and you can measure your mana today.”</p><p>“I’ll make sure the frame gets back to you Harry.” Dumbledore smiled getting a nod of thanks from Harry. There was already a line of every student forming behind him and Harry quickly moved out of the way so that the readings could begin. He quickly made his way out of the Great Hall and was followed by Tonks and Penny.</p><p>“You did great, Harrikins!” Tonks smiled as she ruffled his hair. Harry groaned as he pulled away from her and tried to fix the even worse mess his hair had been made into.</p><p>“I believe you did well too, Harry. You’ve gotten a lot of interest in your product and that’ll make them easier to sell when you’re ready.” Penny congratulated him as he made his way towards his hidden workshop.</p><p>“Thanks you two, but after standing in front of the whole school I’m a bit out of sorts. I’m just going to be in my quiet workshop making those four new Test Frames for the school.” Harry stated as they walked through the corridors.</p><p>“What he means is that he’s going to hide from everyone until he calms down.” Tonks laughed making Harry grumble that he wasn’t hiding.</p><p>“Tonks be nice, that was a situation a lot of people would be nervous in.” Penny admonished as they made their way into Harry’s workshop.</p><p>“I know what I said!” Tonks laughed as she hugged Harry from behind.</p><p>“Tonks!” Harry cried out as he flushed dark red.</p><p>The next day Harry received six letters from various Magical Scholars, Enchanters, and one from a company that sold Enchanted Objects. Not overly eager to have everyone in the Great Hall trying to read his mail over his shoulder, Harry stuffed the letters into his robe pocket and finished his breakfast. After classes Harry was on his way up to the Ravenclaw Tower when the moving stairs shifted and brought him to the right hand corridor on the third floor.</p><p>“Well this is inconvenient.” Harry groused as he walked through the corridor to a set of stairs that didn’t move. Halfway down the corridor a large door caught Harry’s attention, it looked a bit different than the other doors in the corridor. “Ten to one odds that this is the forbidden part of the corridor.” Harry mused to himself. He still reached out and tried to open it just out of sheer curiosity, but found it locked. With a wave of his hand and a wandless Alohomora the door actually unlocked. “Why wouldn’t they place a stronger locking charm on the door? First years could open this.” He wondered, after all he was a first year and he’d just opened the door. With his curiosity peaked Harry cracked the door open slightly and looked into the gloomy room. There in the middle was a massive dog with three heads snoozing on top of a wooden trapdoor. Harry, eyes wide, gently closed the door back and used the basic Colloportus Charm he’d gotten to work wandlessly a few days into November to re-lock it. “Well, now I know why it’s forbidden.” But did he really? His curious mind questioned. After all the trapdoor was clearly part of the forbidden corridor and who knew what lay beyond it? Trying to shelve his curiosity Harry quickly made his way up the stairs and into Ravenclaw Tower.</p><p>A few of his Housemates inquired about when the Test Frame for the Common Room would be ready but Harry gave them a vague time of the coming weekend. He quickly got to his dorm room and locked the door behind him. It was time to see who had written to him. The letter from the Enchanted Object Company was basically an offer to be the exclusive sellers of his products. Well they could forget that. Owl Order gave him much more freedom than signing any contract with a large company would. The next letter was from an Enchanter in Wales who’d asked about the Runic Language Harry had used for his device. Harry didn’t see any harm in telling him, his runic sequence was merely a derivative of Elder and Younger Futhark linked together. But he’d only tell the man he used Futhark Runes so as to better protect his own secrets.</p><p>“Huh, this ones from the Netherlands.” Harry mused as he opened the next letter and found a missive from another Enchanter. This one was asking whether or not Harry was sure of his Scouters’ accuracy in measuring Magic. Harry would write to the man explaining how he’d designed his basic unit of measurement. That should encourage more understanding and faith in his Scouter as an accurate tool for measuring mana.</p><p>The fourth letter was from a Magical Scholar in France. Thankfully this, Madam Aveline according to the letter, had written in English as Harry couldn’t read French. The Scholar was curious about his thoughts on Magic and his desire to quantify it. This seemed like a good intellectual pursuit so Harry would make sure to write back to the woman. Maybe he should learn some French? It couldn’t be anything but beneficial to his future business endeavors. He did get a chuckle when the post script had asked if he would sell her a Scouter directly for the same ten Galleon price as through Owl Order. He really needed to either get his Transfiguration skills up to the strength and finesse required to shape metal or find a place to build a forge in Hogwarts. Though acquiring more metal might be far more expensive than he’d like.</p><p>The fifth letter was from another Scholar, this one in Ireland; that wanted to hear about Harry’s process of Enchanting. More specifically the man was asking how Harry had learned his Enchanting or who from as he’d been absent from the Magical World for so long. It seemed the man believed Harry had either been taught by someone or had somehow created a new form of Enchanting altogether. Harry knew his spell-forging method that he’d taken from a Muggle fantasy novel and tweaked until it worked was a bit different than the standard Enchanting that was in use today. Though he wasn’t about to spill the beans on his little secret. He’d just explain that he picked it up from a book and made his own trial and error attempts before getting better at it. That should satisfy the curious Irishman.</p><p>The sixth and final letter was from an unknown sender who’d praised Harry for being such a ‘smart young Enchanter’ and encouraged him to ‘keep his curiosity alive and constantly exploring’. From the missive Harry was made aware that this person had been one of the people that purchased one of the four Scouters he’d sold through Owl Order. Whoever had written him had also hinted that they’d keep an eye on his future developments and hoped to one day see Harry as a Master Artificer. Though the person had signed the end of the letter oddly, it was simply a drawing of a circle with symbols and geometric shapes that Harry couldn’t make heads or tails of.</p><p>“That was a bit odd, but at least they seem supportive of my Enchanting. But do they understand that to be a Master Artificer I’d have to craft seven true Artifacts? There hasn’t been a Master Artificer in almost nine hundred years and that was a Chinese mystic that was supported by the ruling dynasty of the time. I somehow doubt I’m going to suddenly be given support by a ruling family so wealthy I’ll be able to have any material in the world to work with.” Harry mused over the letter and the title of Master Artificer. Making even a single true Artifact could take years or even decades depending on its function. Making seven could easily take a lifetime! With a sigh Harry decided to get his homework assignments out of the way before writing replies to the letters he’d received. Afterwards he’d start his first draft of designs for his personal Runic Safe. He’d prefer to keep his money himself since the Goblins were apparently in the business of extorting their vault holders.</p><p>In the third week of November Harry had finished all four Test Frames for Hogwarts. He’d even made sure to make the wood surrounding the stone frame match the House colors of whichever House it belonged to. Professor Flitwick had charmed a spot on the wall for the Test Frame to stick on so that nobody tried to take it. Now Harry watched a few of his Housemates check their mana amounts throughout the week. He’d noticed that there was a marked increase in overall mana levels since he’d unveiled the Test Frames. But if a numerical reading helped Witches and Wizards improve themselves then Harry thought he’d done some good.</p><p>Currently Harry was practicing his spells in the practice area of his hidden workshop. He was trying to conjure lightning like he did fire and water. He’d found a base spell to get the theory from and was now working on doing it his way and making it wandless. The Thunderbolt Curse or Fulmen Curse was a fairly powerful spell that took a good amount of control to cast so that the user didn’t end up harming themselves with it. The theory was there but Harry was having a difficult time finding just the right amount of mana to use. Too little and he either got nothing or only a small spark. Too much and arcs of electricity jumped everywhere. Not to mention it was rather draining on his mana. Casting it with his wand lightened the load but he could still only cast it about six times at most before he just didn’t have enough mana left. Casting it wandlessly reduced his casting down to two of the uncontrollable bursts. A knock on the door got his attention and Harry, knowing it could only be Tonks or Penny, went over to open the door.</p><p>“Wotcher, Harry!” Tonks grinned as she walked into the room with a smile.</p><p>“Afternoon, Harry, I hope we aren’t intruding.” Penny greeted as Harry shook his head to let her know he didn’t mind them being there.</p><p>“Smells like it just rained in here, what are practicing now, air freshening charms?” Tonks asked only for Harry to smile deviously.</p><p>“Nope.” Harry grinned before holding his hand out and facing away from the two girls. Both witches started as an electric buzz was heard and sparks of lightning danced off of Harry’s bare palm for a few seconds. Harry turned back to look at his friends only to crack up at the shocked looks on their faces. “That’s why it smells like it just rained.”</p><p>“Harry, you just…you just…” Penny trailed off in shock.</p><p>“You just used wandless magic!” Tonks shouted near hysteric as she gazed on her First Year friend as if she’d never seen him before.</p><p>“Well yeah, I don’t plan to be restricted to a wand to cast spells.” Harry stated matter of factly. “It takes a bit of time to get it right but I’ve managed a few spells so far.”</p><p>“But…you…I…how?” Penny was still stuck in her shocked state.</p><p>“I have more than ten times the mana you had when you showed your mana amount to everyone and I can’t use Wandless Magic. So how can you? All the books I’ve ever read say that only really powerful Witches and Wizards can use Wandless Magic.” Tonks laid out her confusion while Penny nodded along.</p><p>“Those books are only going off the concept that one needs a focus to perform Magic. I discovered my magic before I’d ever heard of half those theories so I had no preconceived notion that Magic needed a wand. To be honest I’m sure anyone could learn to use Magic without any Magical Focus if they tried. Heck small children do it all the time; they just call it Accidental Magic because it’s often unfocused or causes something random to happen.” Harry explained the opinion he’d developed and shared with his late mother.</p><p>“But if you don’t need a wand then why are they so standard?” Penny asked with Tonks nodding along with her this time.</p><p>“My best guess? Foci make casting Magic easier, so people started relying on them sometime after the wand was introduced. It is one of the most versatile foci to have ever been developed. Then again some of the books that have been written since then might have changed over the years. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the older books on Magic said something like, ‘Magic requires focus.’ and that later got rewritten as ‘Magic requires a focus.’ it seems plausible to me at least.” Harry reasoned slowly getting nods of understanding from his two friends.</p><p>“Can you teach us how to do that?” Tonks asked eagerly.</p><p>“Possibly, but I was planning on keeping the method of discovery a Family Secret, something I could pass on to my children in the future. Then they could pass it on to theirs.” Harry explained with a sigh as he pondered on the future he’d like to have.</p><p>“That’s a reasonable thing to want, Harry. We won’t force you to teach us if you don’t want to.” Penny assured him with a shake of her head.</p><p>“Well I have the obvious solution to this dilemma!” Tonks announced with her hands on her hips. Both of the Ravenclaws looked over at their friend in confusion.</p><p>“What’s that?” Penny asked warily already expecting something outrageous from the Metamorphmagus.</p><p>“We both just marry Harry, of course!” Tonks exclaimed with a smile and a nod of her head.</p><p>“Tonks!” Harry choked out as he blushed so badly he thought all of the blood in his body might be in his face.</p><p>“Oh Merlin…” Penny sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose while letting out a deep sigh.</p><p>“What? This solves everything! Harry gets to keep it a Family Secret and we get to learn Wandless Magic, it’s a win-win!” Tonks declared with a bright smile.</p><p>“Tonks, Harry’s eleven; he can’t get married for six more years. You are also six years older than him and I’m four years older than him. That’s not forgetting that multiple marriages have long since fallen out of common practice. What about all of that?” Penny asked her excitable friend.</p><p>“Semantics! If you’re influential enough no one will stop you! Besides, don’t you want to marry a pair of beautiful and powerful witches, Harry?” Tonks questioned him while pulling Penny into her side and winking at him.</p><p>“I…um…uh…Tonks!” Harry stuttered out having to sit down before he got light headed from how hot his face was getting. Though even he could admit that Tonks and Penny were very pretty girls.</p><p>“Tonks, stop teasing Harry with this!” Penny admonished as she freed herself from Tonks’ hold. “You don’t have to listen to her at all, Harry. You do what you want.” The pink on Penny’s cheeks hinted that she didn’t hate the idea of marrying Harry in the future though.</p><p>“I’ll think about it.” Harry mumbled just loud enough for the two witches to hear a few minutes later. Tonks smiled brightly at him while Penny looked pleasantly shocked though pink reappeared on her cheeks as well.</p><p>“You’re the best, Harrikins!” Tonks cheered as she pulled Harry into a hug and kissed his cheek. “Or should I be calling you boyfriend now?” Harry’s face nearly exploded from emotional overload.</p><p>“Tonks, stop teasing Harry.” Penny chided her friend. “And thank you very much for considering teaching us how to perform Wandless Magic, Harry.”</p><p>“Yeah, thank you Harry, it’s very kind of you to consider sharing something like this with us.” Tonks thanked him sincerely.</p><p>“I’ll think on it for a bit before I decide. But you two are my closest friends and it might be good to try and teach someone else before I try teaching my children in the future.” Harry reasoned as he leaned back in his chair.</p><p>“Make sure you think on the marriage part as well!” Tonks grinned though the look in her eyes suggested she wasn’t completely joking. Harry sputtered in shock again while Penny just sighed while placing her hand on her forehead. There would never be a dull moment with Tonks around apparently.</p><p>“Tonks…” Penny began only to get cut off by the Metamorphmagus.</p><p>“No trying to steal him just for yourself either, Penny! We’re in this together!” Tonks grinned salaciously causing the pretty Ravenclaw to fluster immensely.</p><p>“Tonks!” Penny cried out in embarrassment as she covered her bright red face with both her hands. Tonks laughed loudly, she loved teasing these two! But in the back of her mind she admitted to herself that she wouldn’t mind the arrangement she’d proposed. A small daydream briefly flickered through her mind of a cozy home with a gaggle of children running around their hair varying colors of dark blonde, dark brown, or rainbow.</p><p>But they all had the same amazingly green eyes.</p><p>
  <strong>-End Chapter-</strong>
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  <strong>So Harry’s making waves in the Magical Community! He’s discovered Fluffy and has tried to keep his curiosity in check. Now Penny and Tonks are in the know about Harry’s Wandless Magic. Will he agree to teach them? Will he eventually agree to marry them? Will Tonks ever stop teasing Harry and Penny? Absolutely not, of course! Keep reading to find out more!</strong>
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  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. New Trinket, Answers, Christmas Surprise</h2></a>
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  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Harry crafts some more, makes a new trinket, gives Penny and Tonks his answer and may have just taken a step in the direction of true Artificer! Plus a Christmas surprise!</strong>
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  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
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  <strong>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-</strong>
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  <strong>Chapter 5 – New Trinket, Answers, Christmas Surprise</strong>
</p><p>It was the last week of November and Harry had finally made a decision on teaching Penny and Tonks his method of Wandless Magic. It had been three days since he’d told his two closest friends he’d think about it and now they were coming to meet him in his hidden workshop for his answer. He’d thought long and hard about his answer and hoped they’d be alright with it. A knock on the door let him know his friends had arrived and he let them in a moment later.</p><p>“Afternoon Harry, I take it your homework is already done?” Penny asked getting a smile from Harry. Penny would always be the consummate Prefect.</p><p>“Yes Penny, just like I always do.” Harry replied and it was true. He had found that with a bit of effort most homework assignments could be finished within a day or so of them being assigned. Only longer projects needed more time to complete. This is how Harry was able to maintain his schoolwork and still practice his Magic and his Enchanting.</p><p>“Wotcher, Harrikins, your Tonksie has arrived.” Tonks teased as she pulled him into a side hug. Harry sighed and just accepted the hug since there was no way to discourage Tonks’ teasing so he was trying to learn to roll with it.</p><p>“Good to see you too, Tonks.” Harry smiled as Tonks let him go and moved over to sit next to Penny. Deciding to get to the heart of the matter Harry took a deep breath and started.</p><p>“So I’ve been thinking about teaching you both Wandless Magic, the method I stumbled upon to discover it and giving you basic instruction on casting spells without a focus.” Harry began getting both Tonks and Penny to perk up slightly. “If you’re willing to put in the work and listen, then I’ll be willing to teach you since you two are my closest friends.” He finished getting surprised looks from both girls before Penny gave him a warm smile and Tonks shot up from her chair with a cheer.</p><p>“Hell yeah! You’re the best Harrikins!” Tonks exclaimed as she quickly rushed over to him and pulled him into a hug. Then she started repeatedly kissing his cheeks in an overly dramatic way.</p><p>“Tonks, stop it, let go you crazy girl!” Harry struggled only for Tonks to laugh and hug him tighter. Penny sighed as she stood up and made her way over to help Harry get out of Tonks’ arms. After separating the two Harry began their impromptu first lesson. “What do you two know about Occlumency?”</p><p>“I know it’s Magic to protect the mind. I’ve tried to learn a bit since my mum knows it and she says it’ll help me get into the Aurors after school.” Tonks replied.</p><p>“I’ve only seen it mentioned in a few books.” Penny answered having only briefly read about the obscure branch of Magic.</p><p>“Well I found a journal and some school books that were my mother’s when I was eight. She’d left detailed notes on a lot of Magical Subjects as well as her own thoughts, opinions and theories. Occlumency was one such subject. I was worried that someone could read my mind so I tried to learn it. It took months before I was able to make any headway, but I was eight, so clearing my mind was difficult and entering a meditative state was challenging. Once I’d finally gotten to the meditative point something was different. Instead of thinking nothing I found my consciousness in a dull void with multitudes of blueish-white and purplish-black orbs. After a while of experimenting I learned that these two colors could merge together to make a silvery-grey orb that was twice the size. I eventually made the decision to merge all of the orbs together pair by pair until only one remained. Immediately after I did that the new large orb pulsed, for lack of a better term, and I was knocked out of my meditative state. I slept almost instantly for over an hour and a half before waking up feeling, I don’t know, lighter or stronger, maybe? But I was still exhausted so I went to bed and ended up sleeping for over ten hours.”</p><p>“So that’s how you can do Wandless Magic? You found some way, through Occlumency, to mess with your Magic directly?” Penny asked trying to get some clarification.</p><p>“That’s my best theory. The dull void is apparently a magical representation of one’s mind and Magic. By bringing all of my free floating Magic together into a single, I guess you could call it a core, it synced up with my body and that lets me access it even without a focus. Though I believe I made a single mistake between my attempts at Occlumency and what traditional Occlumens are taught.” Harry explained.</p><p>“What mistake?” Tonks questioned since to her it sounded like Harry had done it better than most.</p><p>“I think I still had the thought that I was doing the meditation and trying to learn Occlumency because of Magic. I knew I was going through this process for the Magic of it rather than to try and clear and protect my mind. I’m working off the theory that because I was focusing on Magic instead of a cleared mind I found my Magic rather than a cleared and empty mind like normal.” Harry theorized as he thought about his discovery of Magic.</p><p>“I see; you wanted to practice and learn Occlumency for the Magic so you found your Magic within instead of your mind. It’s a fascinating theory; it could rewrite a lot of Magical Theory if it could be studied correctly. How one would go about studying it escapes me though.” Penny mused as she thought about how much variation each individual could represent in such a study.</p><p>“So are you going to teach us this alternate Occlumency then?” Tonks asked still eager to learn Wandless Magic.</p><p>“That would be an appropriate name, I guess.” Harry chuckled. “It did actually protect my mind in the end. My Magic keeps strengthening the protection around my mind as it continues to get stronger so maybe this is a new form of Occlumency?”</p><p>“Well I’m ready to start! Let’s go!” Tonks grinned as she sat back down and waited.</p><p>“If you’re willing to start now, Harry, we’re both ready to try and learn.” Penny nodded at him. Harry breathed deeply before exhaling and tried to explain the process he’d gone through step by step. The two older teens listened with rapt attention in hopes of learning this new path that had been opened up for them.</p><p>-The Next Saturday-</p><p>This wasn’t fair! Sure Tonks had some prior experience with Occlumency. Sure Penny was an intelligent girl with a great work ethic. Sure he’d only been eight when he’d stumbled through it and sure he’d taught them so they didn’t have to go through all the experimenting with trial and error. But a week! Really?! The Universe wasn’t fair! He wasn’t pouting!</p><p>“He’s adorable when he pouts like that.” Tonks laughed while Penny giggled lightly behind her hand.</p><p>“I’m not pouting!” Harry grumbled from his place behind his work table in his hidden workshop. Both girls just laughed again before asking for some instruction on actual casting. Both Tonks and Penny had completed finding their Magic and forming their cores. Penny proposed calling this second step ‘Core Formation’ or ‘Coring’ in future lessons. They’d all pretty much agreed that the first step would be ‘Alternate Occlumency’.</p><p>“Before that I want to know how your Occlumency Defenses are forming.” Harry inquired since he’d explained his ‘Bramble Defense’ that naturally occurred and started growing once he’d completed ‘Core Formation’.</p><p>“Me first, me first!” Tonks exclaimed waving her hand over her head exaggeratedly. “My defense is a lot like water. It flows in streams from my core to my body and the whole mind is encapsulated in a sphere of water. I tried the ‘seeing from outside’ trick you mentioned and it’s literally like a storm on the outside. All waves and whirlpools and a thick misty fog that makes it impossible to perceive anything.” The happy Metamorphmagus explained getting a nod from Harry. He was still trying to figure out what factors played into how these natural Occlumency defenses formed. With more users maybe he’d be able to understand them, for now it was just a lot of questions and curiosities.</p><p>“Mine are more akin to metal. I have large beams that seem to connect my core to my body. From there they branch out and connect to each other in a frame work of smaller beams. So far these smaller beams have actually filled in the area directly around my mind and fused into solid walls of metal. Using the ‘seeing from outside’ trick, as Tonks put it, the beams of metal are slowly but constantly expanding and connecting to one another forming a larger more complex frame work with sections eventually filling in and forming more solid walls. I believe they’ll eventually layer my mind with wall after wall of metal until it becomes impenetrable.” Penny informed as Harry listened and tried to puzzle out whatever differences he could. Perhaps Tonks’ defense was more fluid because of her personality? Or did being a Metamorphmagus make her Magic more fluid? Penny was a girl of structure so maybe personality did effect the defense formation? So many questions.</p><p>“Alright, let’s start with something easy, the Lumos Charm.” Harry began getting a nod from Penny but Tonks let out a groan about it being boring. Harry grinned and sent a low powered Flipendo at her. Tonks yelped as she dove from the chair to the floor and Harry’s jinx smacked into the wall next to the old chalkboard.</p><p>“Hey, you lookin’ for a duel?!” Tonks challenged as she brandished her wand only to notice that Harry wasn’t looking at her but behind her. Turning her head, along with Penny, the three stared at the door that was next to the chalkboard. After all, that door hadn’t been there a minute ago.</p><p>“That’s new.” Harry remarked as he slowly approached the newly revealed door.</p><p>“Careful, we don’t know why this door appeared or where it might lead.” Penny cautioned her wand already in her hand. Tonks followed along, her wand pointed forward and ready. Upon reaching the door Harry noticed something on the ground in front of it. Crouching down to look close at the object Harry noticed the runes covering it. It was made of wood and was around fifteen centimeters long and eight centimeters wide. Tapping the wooden object with his shoe to see if it would react yielded nothing, so Harry slowly picked it up.</p><p>“The heck is it?” Tonks asked as Harry stood up with the object in hand.</p><p>“Give me a moment.” Harry requested already distracted by looking over the runic sequence on the wood. A little over a minute later Harry grinned as he’d finally figured out what he was looking at. “This is a Sight Lock.”</p><p>“A what?” Penny asked confused. Tonks looked equally confused by the term.</p><p>“A type of Ward Object. It’s similar to the Hiding Stone but it makes whatever object it’s placed on completely invisible. Even if someone is directly looking for said object they won’t be able to perceive it or the Sight Lock even if they’re both right in front of them. Its only weakness is that it can be removed by anybody. It also has the limitation of only working on objects and doesn’t function on people. I saw a basic design for one in my Advanced Magical Crafting book.” Harry explained as he set the Sight Lock on a piece of parchment on top of his work table and the parchment and the Sight Lock disappeared from Penny and Tonks’ sight.</p><p>“So only the one that places it can see it?” Penny questioned getting a nod from Harry as he picked it up and the parchment reappeared. Tonks had a mischievous look on her face as she looked at the Sight Lock. Oh the pranks she could play with that little item!</p><p>“The only thing strange is why it’s still working. Sight Locks are supposed to be charged with the placer’s Magic and that disperses after a day or so at best. This one was still working possibly since the last time this classroom was used.” Harry puzzled over the strange Sight Lock. “I’ll have to go over the runic sequence in full to determine why it was able to keep working. But first let’s see what’s behind the door.” Penny and Tonks both raised their wands again as Harry carefully examined the door for any more surprises. Not finding anything Harry tried to open the door. The door didn’t budge and Harry guessed it was locked. A wandless Alohomora made the lock click and Harry gently pulled the door open. Inside was a fairly large room which Harry estimated to be roughly thirty or so square meters. It had a couple of windows on one wall that overlooked the back courtyard of the castle. As the trio slowly moved into the room Tonks moved over to a smaller door and opened it to discover a full bathroom with a shower, bathtub, sink, and toilet.</p><p>“I think I know what this room is.” Penny stated getting Harry and Tonks to look at the Prefect. “This is probably the Professor’s quarters. According to ‘Hogwarts: A History’ back when the school had far more students, many of them permanent live-in, there were far more Professors. I think each subject use to have a minimum of three Professors, but each Professor’s classroom also had their quarters attached. This was probably the Ancient Rune Professor’s quarters before they left.”</p><p>“But how long ago was that?” Tonks asked as she looked around the room, if it had been locked up and hidden like this then the small amount of dust made sense. Especially if it was even hidden from the House Elves of the castle, those little ones would be appalled at even this small amount of dust. Then again some of the other abandoned classrooms she’d found in her years here had been left in a state of neglect. Maybe the House Elves eventually left rooms that weren’t used alone?</p><p>“The last time that there was more than a single Professor for any subject was in the late Eighteen Hundreds. If I remember correctly, that is.” Penny replied as she looked out the windows at the rarely used rear courtyard.</p><p>“I could use this space.” Harry nodded to himself. Penny immediately noticed the look on Harry’s face and sighed as she prepared to burst his bubble.</p><p>“Harry, you can’t move into this room. It’s against the rules and I’m supposed to help enforce them. You also know that people would quickly realize you weren’t staying in Ravenclaw Tower anymore. You might be able to get away with staying here overnight a couple of times a school year but any more than that and someone is definitely going to notice.” Penny explained getting Harry to sigh and nod in acceptance. He looked over the largish room again before really focusing on the windows. Suddenly a grin came to his face as a problem he’d been having might finally be solved.</p><p>“What’s that look for, Harrikins?” Tonks asked upon seeing Harry’s expression. Harry turned to smile at both his friends before explaining his change in mood.</p><p>“You know how I was lamenting the slow increase in my Transfiguration skill and how it was limiting my ability to craft with metal?” Harry asked and received nods in return. “Well, I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out a way to either rapidly increase my Transfiguration skill, which isn’t likely, or find a place to build a forge and shape it the old fashioned way. This room has everything a proper blacksmith workshop needs with only a few minor modifications.” He explained happily as he surveyed the room to plan where to put things for his blacksmithing. He may only know the most basic of the craft but that wasn’t anything some experience and studying couldn’t fix!</p><p>“Harry, I’m not sure that’s allowed.” Penny started only to have to stop and actually think about it. Were there any rules against setting up a blacksmith workshop in Hogwarts? The school had a history spanning a thousand years, so surely this kind of question had come up beforehand, right? “At least let me check the rules before you start building or setting up? I don’t want you getting in trouble.” She asked getting a nod from Harry even as he continued to roughly measure stuff in his mind.</p><p>“Not that this hasn’t been a fun discovery but can we still have that Wandless Magic lesson?” Tonks asked a moment later getting both Harry and Penny to realize they’d gotten completely distracted. With his mind refocused on his previous task Harry gestured for the two to follow him back into the former classroom so he could start teaching them Wandless Casting. A few hours later Penny and Tonks could proudly claim that they could cast a Lumos Charm wandlessly, even if it was the most basic and simple spell out there. Progress was progress! They’d even decided on names for all the steps of Harry’s Wandless Magic Method, that name was still pending. The first step was ‘Alternate Occlumency’ the second step was ‘Core Formation’ the third step was ‘Mana Manipulation’ and the fourth and final step was ‘Spell Construction’.</p><p>“It’s nice to have names and labels for the process but why are you so adamant we get it set up right away?” Harry asked Tonks after the lesson. Even Penny was surprised by how much Tonks seemed to want to get the process organized.</p><p>“It’s something we’re going to teach our children, right? We should have it worked out entirely for when the time comes!” Tonks explained with a bubbling laugh as both Harry and Penny’s faces turned dark red and both tried to hide their blushes. The fact that neither would meet her eyes; or each other’s for that matter, only made the bright and warm laughter increase.</p><p>The next morning as Harry was eating his breakfast Penny came and sat beside him and started filling her own plate. After exchanging ‘Good mornings’ with each other Penny explained that she hadn’t discovered any rules against setting up his blacksmith workshop on school grounds. Apparently Hogwarts had even offered blacksmithing as a class way back in the day when metallurgy was completely done by hand. Having a valuable Muggle skill made it easier for Wizards and Witches to avoid suspicion and blend in from the Thirteenth Century until the class stopped being offered in the late Seventeenth Century. The Headmaster of the time had apparently stripped Hogwarts of all the ‘Muggle Foolishness’ during his tenure and nobody had ever bothered to try and reinstate it.</p><p>“Well good to know that I’m not breaking any rules. I might need you and Tonks to help me with some Transfiguration though.” Harry mused as Penny shook her head fondly. Harry was a kindred spirit of work ethic when it came to her, she should’ve known he was still planning out his new workshop even before he’d known whether he would be allowed to build it. The two spent the rest of breakfast together before heading their separate ways for a couple hours. Harry spent the rest of his Sunday morning going over plans for his blacksmith workshop. He spent the afternoon helping Tonks and Penny practice their Wandless Magic. He also went over measurements and what Transfiguration he’d need from them to get his blacksmith workshop set up in the old Professor’s quarters. The weekdays were spent attending classes as usual, though Harry had long since stopped paying attention in Binns’ class, and only Potions was still annoying because of Snape. The evening free time between the end of dinner and curfew was often spent practicing Wandless Magic with Penny and Tonks.</p><p>“So this here and I’ll need the pipe to go through this window.” Harry mumbled to himself as he looked over his sketched out plans for his blacksmith workshop. It was Saturday and Harry was going to hand over the final plans for the workshop to Tonks and Penny so that the older girls could perform the Transfiguration he’d need to safely have a forge in the abandoned Professor’s quarters. He only had one week left before Tonks and Penny would be heading home for Yule Break. While the two weeks of no classes would give Harry plenty of time to practice his Enchanting and Wandless Magic he was going to miss his friends. Even Mandy, Hermione and Padma were all going home so his occasional study buddies wouldn’t be around either. Though he had come up with a good gift idea for the three after asking Tonks and Penny, all three girls would be getting a set of their favorite candy and a Flourish and Blott’s gift certificate. Hermione who didn’t indulge in sweets much because of her dentist parents was getting Tooth Flossing String Mints. Harry had laughed upon learning about them from Penny, who would have thought of mints that actually flossed your teeth?</p><p>Hagrid’s gift had come along well, in Harry’s opinion anyway. The large Groundskeeper was getting an Enchanted Warming Charm Scarf of his own as well as a pair of Enchanted Gloves to match. Making gloves had been more difficult than mittens but with some trial and error Harry had figured them out and sized them up to fit Hagrid’s large hands. Sewing and stitching leather into the wool gloves so that they’d be durable enough for Hagrid’s work had been another task in itself but they’d come out fully functional and Harry was proud of them. It had turned out to be true that you could order almost anything from Owl Order after all, considering the leather had been ordered through the service. With his Christmas gifts ready to go Harry was left with some extra hours on his hands while he waited for Tonks and Penny to arrive and start the Transfiguration work.</p><p>“Well I guess I can look more into the Sight Lock.” Harry nodded to himself as he sat down at his work table and got out a fresh sheet of parchment to note down any oddities he noticed about the runic sequence. Picking the object up Harry set about studying the sequence. It was a while before he jotted down the only abnormal part of the sequence he could find. ‘The runic sequence for accepting the placer’s mana is altered from the normal variation. This looks like it can accept magic from any source so long as it’s in direct contact. Is that how it’s stayed active for so long? Hogwarts practically overflows with magic and the Sight Lock was placed on the door. Maybe it has just been pulling the magic it needs from the castle this whole time? But this alteration isn’t very efficient at drawing in magic though, the only place this accident could have happened is at a place that overflows with magic like the castle. Maybe I could find a better way? If I can figure out a way for my Objects to draw in the ambient magic from the planet they’d never need to be directly empowered again. Well, as long as their function wasn’t too magic intensive. I highly doubt I can work out a sequence that would draw enough magic to empower a powerful set of wards just from the ambient magic alone. I’d have to make a sequence capable of tapping into the ley lines for that.’ As Harry was musing to himself and jotting down ideas he’d lost track of time and was only reminded by the sudden knocking on the door.</p><p>“Tonks and Clearwater Transfiguration Services!” Tonks sing songed as Harry opened the door and chuckled at his friend’s antics. Penny playfully shoved Tonks into the room before the door was closed and the two started going over what alterations Harry wanted. A decent sized hole was to be transfigured into the middle window of the Professor’s quarters for the forge’s chimney. Filling an enclosed space with smoke wasn’t good. Ideally there wouldn’t be much of any smoke as that meant the fire wasn’t being taken care of properly. Harry may not have much experience at actual blacksmithing but he’d paid attention to the old blacksmith from the day camp and learned quite a bit. Then two tanks needed to be transfigured, a water filled slack tub and one he’d fill with oil when needed to act as a quench tank. Harry also required their Transfiguration skills in making an anvil and a few metal racks along with a sturdy work table. The final tools he’d need to start working metal he’d spend a bit of his limited funds on to Owl Order. He’d rather spend the money on proper tools rather than try and make them himself and potentially ruin a future project with a broken tool.</p><p>“Hmm, we’re going to need quite a bit of metal for all of this Harry; though because we’ll only be changing the metal and some stone from one shape into another it’ll be much easier to make the Transfigurations permanent.” Penny explained as she looked over the designs Harry had drawn up.</p><p>“Where exactly do we get this much metal though? I doubt that we’ll find a ton of it just lying around Hogwarts.” Tonks commented as she looked over the plans as well.</p><p>“We can probably scrounge up enough by raiding a few of the unused classrooms. A lot of the chairs and some of the tables have metal legs, plus we could get lucky and find a metal table or two.” Penny replied as the three made plans to quickly go through every room in the corridor the hidden workshop was in and then expand out to the rest of the mostly abandoned section of this floor of the castle. By the end of their raiding trip the trio had found quite a bit of metal that wouldn’t be missed. But they’d taken long enough that Tonks and Penny only had just over an hour to get everything transfigured before curfew and Penny would have to start making her Prefect rounds. But the two proved their capability by finishing everything with time to spare. The only thing they didn’t have enough metal for was a full size anvil. So Harry had agreed to make the anvil a bit smaller than standard to start and they’d try to ‘reclaim’ more metal after the Yule Break to get it up to size. All in all Harry couldn’t be happier with his new blacksmith workshop or smithy as they were technically called; but Harry was pretty sure to call it that implied that he was a professional which he clearly wasn’t yet.</p><p>Sunday was spent collecting stone to transfigure into the forge itself so that when Harry’s tools were delivered he’d be able to start working as soon as he had some free time. This only took the better part of the morning and so the trio had spent time practicing Wandless Magic. Tonks had gotten the Stinging Hex to work wandlessly and was quick to demonstrate it to Harry, with him as the unfortunate target. She’d been beaten to the punch by Penny though. The Ravenclaw Prefect had been able to get three spells working in the same time that Tonks had gotten one. Penny’s wandless spells were Flipendo, Wingardium Leviosa, and the Impedimenta Charm. Tonks had asked her younger friend about her speed and Penny had stated that she did the same as when she learned a new spell with her wand. Penny just seemed to have a knack for breaking a spell down and figuring out how to make it work.</p><p>The school week went by with increasing excitement as the Yule Break approached. Harry’s tools arrived on Wednesday and he’d stored them in his finished smithy. Now all that was left was to get some charcoal to fuel it and Harry would be set. Hagrid had mentioned that you could buy charcoal from Hogsmeade and agreed to pick some up for Harry when he went into the village on the coming Saturday. With nothing else much to do with his homework finished, Harry had taken to working out his newest runic design for his Rune Safe. Trying to incorporate the ambient magic absorption function into his multi-layered security sequence was proving itself very difficult. He was still trying to tweak the ambient magic sequence to be more efficient and to take in large amounts of mana all at once. If he wanted to charge his safe’s array quickly it would be for the best if he could just drop a large amount of mana into it all at once. Figuring out how to make all the different runic sequences work together as a proper array would probably be the hardest task he attempted this year and Harry couldn’t wait to make his design a reality.</p><p>Harry waved Tonks and Penny goodbye as they boarded the self-moving carriages that would take them to the Hogwarts Express and back to their families for the break. Hagrid would be bringing the charcoal around noon tomorrow and until then Harry planned to finish all of the homework given to them for the break. With it out of the way Harry could spend the rest of the break working in his smithy to make more metal for his Enchanting. In between that he’d continue to work on the Rune Safe array. He’d made a breakthrough with getting all of the security sequences to work together but he still needed to tweak the mana absorption sequence to get it to integrate. Maybe if he upped the strength of the absorption? Or the rate that it could absorb mana? He’d rewrite it again and see if either version of the sequence worked.</p><p>The next day Hagrid delivered Harry his charcoal as promised. After a grateful thank you to his friend Harry had made his way to his hidden workshop and set about getting his forge ready. With a bit of metal he’d managed to ‘reclaim’ from an abandoned classroom on the sixth floor, Harry set about his first attempt at metallurgy. The results were better than he expected, the metal had been properly imbued with his mana and it had become the shape he’d wanted it. Harry was fairly sure that the fire had been a bit too hot a few times as three of the metal bars he’d made had melted out of shape. He’d had to pound them with one of his hammers back into the correct thin bar he was aiming for. He still had five more glass lenses so he was going to make another set of Scouters. Four of them would go through Owl Order again while he’d be writing to Madam Aveline in France about selling her the fifth one.</p><p>On Sunday Harry had written his letter to Madam Aveline with his offer of selling her the Scouter she wanted directly for ten Galleons. He’d sent the missive off with one of the school owls and then passed Hedwig the gifts for Penny and Tonks.</p><p>“Have a safe flight, Hedwig, feel free to stay at whoever’s house you deliver to last if you want.” Harry smiled as he stroked Hedwig’s feathers. With a hoot Hedwig had taken flight from the Owlery and headed south. The gifts for Padma, Mandy and Hermione were each given to a different school owl and Harry watched them fly away until he couldn’t see them anymore. He’d give Hagrid his present on Christmas morning in the Great Hall, he was sure the gentle giant would like it.</p><p>The next day just after lunch Harry had been sitting in the Great Hall waiting for what he knew was coming. Within a few minutes of most of the students leaving four owls from the Owl Order Service landed on the table in front of Harry. Each of the highly trained owls waited patiently as Harry first took off the small parcel that contained his Galleons from their legs before replacing them with the wrapped packages containing the Scouters he’d sold. Once the packages were secure the four owls took flight and were out of the Great Hall in less than a minute. With that done Harry quickly retreated to his workshop to stash his new gold. Having secured his Galleons in the back of the bottom drawer of the Professor’s desk he’d commandeered as his work table Harry started work on his newest trinket.</p><p>“Just have to etch the sequence and then I can get to testing.” Harry smiled to himself as he pulled out the last two flat metal bars he’d forged and pulled out the metal etching tool from his Rune Carving Kit. Several minutes later Harry was finished with the etching and admiring his new trinket. This time he’d gone for another simple design, he called it a Silent Step. Attaching this trinket to the bottom of a person’s shoes should make their steps silent. Harry quickly used a Sticking Charm, from his wand since he hadn’t gotten this particular Charm to work wandlessly yet, to attach one bar to the bottom of his left trainer before doing the same with his right. Once both small bars were attached horizontally across the soles of his shoes, so they wouldn’t impede the soles’ ability to bend, Harry had taken a few steps across the room. When no sound was made by his steps Harry grinned and started stomping and jumping up and down. Still no sound was made and Harry cheered in triumph. Even if it was just a simple trinket it always felt good to succeed with a creation.</p><p>When Christmas morning came Harry was happy as any eleven year old to see a few gifts on top of his trunk. Smiling Harry picked up the first one and laughed when he saw that it was from Tonks. Honestly the wrapping paper gave it away, who else would use a Color Changing Charm to swap the traditional green and red coloration of Christmas for neon blue and hot pink? Opening the gift he was met with the sight of a new Rune Carving Kit. This one looked much fancier than the three he’d found in his workshop. Reading the card Tonks had sent he was surprised to learn she’d been planning this since October. The tools in this kit were made with alchemical metal alloys allowing them to be used with almost every material imaginable.</p><p>“This kit must have cost at least nine or ten Galleons, maybe more, I’ll have to hope she likes my gift as much as I like hers.” Harry mumbled to himself as he set the Kit aside. He’d definitely save it for after he got the hang of dealing with normal metals. After that maybe it would be prudent to look into alchemic metal alloys for his Enchanting? He had a Kit that could work with those magical metals now and it would be a shame to not explore the idea.</p><p>The next gift he picked up was from Hermione. She’d sent him a book called ‘Famous Enchanted Objects from around the World’ he’d definitely have a look through this tonight before bed. It would be interesting to see what other Enchanters had come up with and gotten famous for.</p><p>The third gift he picked up was from Mandy. She’d gotten him a sample of what had to be every single magical candy out there. Some of these he had never even heard of. He knew the girl had a sweet tooth but now he’d have to carefully read what each of these candies did before he ate one. Magical candy was known to have a variety of effects after all.</p><p>Padma’s gift ended up being fourth. The Indian witch had sent him a book on learning Devanagari for use in Runes. He’d have to thank his study buddy for this when she got back. If he could learn another Runic Language he’d open up a whole new path for his Enchanting. Not to mention the potential of mixing Runic Languages into a working array. The theory was sound enough but only a few Enchanters had actually succeeded from what Harry had read.</p><p>The fifth gift was from Penny and he smiled when he read the card. The sweet girl was once again thanking him for teaching her Wandless Magic and hoped her gift made him happy. The gift turned out to be another book but its title caught Harry’s attention. ‘Beginners Alchemy for Enchanters’ was embossed on the cover and Harry opened it to read the forward. This book would teach the beginnings of alchemy and the products it could create to assist in Enchanting. Harry had only briefly come across this in his Advanced Magical Crafting book. But the possibility of using alchemic compounds to create magical circuits between Runes to spread their effects or to link them up in new ways was briefly mentioned near the end of it and Harry’s mind was already abuzz with new thoughts and ideas.</p><p>“I do believe my two closest friends collaborated on their gifts for me.” Harry mused fondly; those two were far too good to him.</p><p>The second to last gift was from Hagrid. The gentle giant had given him a hand carved wooden flute. Blowing into it produced a sound similar to an owl. Hmm, maybe a side hobby to pick up? It would be good to take his mind off his Enchanting or Magic practice whenever he got stuck. He was certain he’d hit dead ends multiple times throughout his life so something else to do might be a good idea.</p><p>The last gift was unsigned but the card mentioned that it had been left in the person’s care by his father before he died. Carefully unwrapping the gift a silvery cloth fell out onto Harry’s bed. Slowly picking it up Harry realized it was a hooded cloak. Deciding to try it on Harry noticed that his body disappeared as soon as the cloak was settled.</p><p>“An Invisibility Cloak? I thought their magic dispersed within a decade? How is this one still working if it was my father’s?” Harry wondered as he removed the cloak and re-read the card. There were no further clues and without having another Invisibility Cloak to compare his new one to he couldn’t say for sure if there was anything different about it. His stomach rumbling let Harry know it was time for breakfast. Deciding to stow the cloak in his trunk for now Harry picked up his gift to Hagrid and made his way down to the Great Hall.</p><p>“Merry Christmas, Hagrid.” Harry smiled as he handed his friend the gift he’d made him. Hagrid smiled back as he took the gift and placed it on the staff table to unwrap it. Seeing the large scarf and gloves Hagrid beamed at Harry as he picked them up.</p><p>“These are great, Harry, did yeh make them yerself?” Hagrid asked as he pulled the gloves on and found they fit nicely.</p><p>“Yeah, those wooden buttons will produce a continuous Warming Charm when you put a bit of magic into them. I’ve seen you working outside when it’s been cold so I thought you’d appreciate the function.” Harry explained happy Hagrid enjoyed his gift.</p><p>“Yeh don’t say.” Hagrid replied as he touched the wooden button on one of the gloves he was currently wearing. Feeling pleasant warmth cover his hand Hagrid couldn’t help but sigh. This would definitely make the winter grounds keeping jobs much more enjoyable. “This is nice, certainly gonna be much nicer doin’ the outside work when I’m all warm and toasty.”</p><p>“I’m glad you like them, Hagrid.” Harry grinned as Hagrid smiled back and removed the gloves. The large man placed the gloves and the scarf safely inside his large coat and promised to use them well. “Thank you for the flute, by the way, I think I’ll try and learn to play it. It could be a good non-Magic related hobby for when I just want to take a break.”</p><p>“Aw, yer welcome Harry. I’m glad yeh like it. Was never the best player meself, but I do enjoy a nice tune.” Hagrid replied with a grin before telling Harry to go fill his rumbling stomach. It was just after Harry finished eating that an owl flew in and landed in front of him. Taking the letter from the owl Harry looked at the sender in confusion. ‘What could St. Mungos want with me?’ He pondered to himself. Opening the letter Harry read over it his eyes widening the further he read.</p><p>His Godfather, Sirius Black, had awoken from his decade long coma in the early hours of the morning. At Sirius’ request Harry was being invited to visit on Boxing Day to meet his Godfather.</p><p>Harry suddenly felt like he might have experienced a genuine Christmas Miracle firsthand.</p><p>
  <strong>-End Chapter-</strong>
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  <strong>The Dogfather cometh! Harry’s about to get a new lease on his time outside of Hogwarts! Plus new branches of Enchanting are opening up to him! Will this propel him towards the Title of Artificer sooner? Keep reading to find out!</strong>
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  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Sirius, Offer, Learning</h2></a>
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  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Harry gets to meet Sirius! An offer is made and Harry starts to learn both basic Alchemy and Devanagari Runes! What will these new Magical Aspects bring to his Enchanting? </strong>
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  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
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  <strong>Chapter 6 – Sirius, Offer, Learning</strong>
</p><p>“Are you ready to go, Mr. Potter?” Flitwick inquired as he stood in front of the Floo in his personal quarters. As Harry’s Head of House, Flitwick would be escorting Harry to St. Mungos for his visit with Sirius.</p><p>“Yes, Professor.” Harry nodded as he stepped into the green flames. “St. Mungos!” He called out and was suddenly whisked through the Floo Network. When the spinning finally stopped Harry was sent stumbling out of the fireplace in the St. Mungos reception area. He ended up almost flat on his face before he felt someone grab his arm to steady him. The only problem with this was that the other person just so happened to be rather uncoordinated themselves and ended up getting pulled down along with Harry.</p><p>“Oof!” Tonks cried out as she fell on top of Harry in a tangle of limbs.</p><p>“Tonks?! What are you doing here?” Harry questioned before realizing their position and flushing red. “Can you get off me?”</p><p>“I believe that would be best, Ms. Tonks.” Flitwick piped up having come through the Floo after Harry.</p><p>“Sorry about that, Harrikins!” Tonks grinned with a wink as she got up and helped Harry to his feet. “Thanks for the gift, I really like them!” She gushed as she motioned to the scarf that she had around her neck.</p><p>“No problem Tonks, I’m glad you like them.” Harry smiled back before offering his own thanks for her gift. “You didn’t have to spend so much on my gift, you know?”</p><p>“Better to spend it on you rather than some random thing for myself.” Tonks waved off before taking his wrist and pulling him over to the reception desk. “Let’s get you signed in so you can see Sirius!”</p><p>“Wait? Why are you visiting Sirius?” Harry questioned.</p><p>“Oh right, I never told you, Sirius is my second cousin. My mom and Sirius are first cousins.” Tonks replied as they stopped by the reception desk and Harry was given a visitor’s pass. Flitwick followed behind the duo and would wait outside of the room during Harry’s visit. “Nervous?” Tonks asked seeing the look on Harry’s face.</p><p>“A bit, I’ve never met the man when I had the ability to remember so this is basically our first meeting.” Harry explained getting an understanding nod from Tonks.</p><p>“Don’t worry, Harry, Sirius adored you from the moment you were born! He’s been practically bouncing since he received confirmation that you were coming to see him.” Tonks reassured her friend. Harry smiled slightly at Tonks’ encouragement.</p><p>“Thanks Tonks, well let’s go see my Godfather.” Harry put on a grin though Tonks could tell he was nervous still.</p><p>“I brought Harry!” Tonks announced as she and Harry entered Sirius’ hospital room. Harry saw the slim man with the trimmed beard and long dark hair sitting in the hospital bed. He was surrounded by other people Harry didn’t know, a haggard looking man in older looking robes, a witch that bore a resemblance to Sirius himself, and finally another man that looked fairly plain with brown hair and a smile on his face. Though that smile was definitely the same one Tonks often wore, so this man was probably her father, Ted.</p><p>“Harry!” Sirius called happily as he threw his arms open wide. “Come give your Dogfather a hug!”</p><p>“Dogfather?” Harry questioned as Tonks laughed and gently pushed Harry forward.</p><p>“Ignore his terminology he never made it past Third Year maturity wise.” The woman whom Harry was convinced was Tonks’ mother, Andromeda, jibed at Sirius.</p><p>“Oi! I’m a man of culture and refinement, I’ll have you know!” Sirius sniped back making all three adults laugh at the statement. “Hey! You’re supposed to back me up at least Moony!”</p><p>“Sorry Padfoot can’t help but laugh at a joke like that.” ‘Moony’ chuckled getting Sirius to snort before laughing as well.</p><p>“Nice to meet you, Sirius.” Harry smiled with the tension from earlier lifting away at the laughter in the room. He was quickly pulled into a warm hug by Sirius which he gently returned.</p><p>“Sorry it took me so long to wake up Harry, but I dragged the rat back for you.” Sirius whispered quietly as he hugged his godson.</p><p>“It wasn’t too bad, Sirius, you did what you needed to do; I’m sure my parents were happy about that.” Harry whispered back strengthening his hug slightly before the two released each other.</p><p>“Thank you Harry, that means a lot.” Sirius smiled getting Harry to smile in return. “So tell me how you’ve been, Harry, the last time I saw you was when you were one.” With that Harry began to explain his life to Sirius, plus his visitors, until he got to his time starting at Hogwarts.</p><p>“Wait, you’re in Ravenclaw?” Sirius questioned getting a nod from Harry. “Nerd!”</p><p>“Oi!” Harry called out getting a burst of laughter from everyone in the room.</p><p>“I know, right?!” Tonks laughed as she pulled Harry into a hug. “But he’s my nerd! He makes me nice things!” She laughed as she held up one end of her Enchanted Scarf. Harry’s red face only prompted further laughter from the adults in the room. Harry was surprised that Sirius hadn’t asked about his Scouter and mentioned it.</p><p>“I’ve been reading back issues of the Prophet that St. Mungos keeps around. So as soon as I saw your name I read the article about your item. You want to scan me? I might not be in tip-top shape but I bet I still score higher than Remus here!” Sirius chuckled getting an amused roll of the eyes from Remus.</p><p>“Always so competitive.” Remus huffed getting an agreeing nod from Andromeda.</p><p>“Sure, just a second.” Harry smiled as he pulled his Scouter from his pocket. “Does everyone want one?” He asked the room getting a nod or shrug from the others. With that Harry started with Sirius who was looking like an eager child.</p><p>“You have ‘2714’ mana right now Sirius. I don’t know how much you had beforehand so I can’t tell you if its’ shrunk from your stay here or not.” Harry informed getting a nod from Sirius.</p><p>“Remus has ‘6428’ mana.” Harry stated after scanning the other man. Remus smiled gently before Sirius spoke up.</p><p>“What? I have less than Moony! No way!” Sirius called out jokingly getting another eye roll from Remus as the man shook his head.</p><p>“Mrs. Tonks has ‘6558’ mana.” Harry announced getting a nod from the woman and a grin.</p><p>“Mr. Tonks has ‘6306’ mana.” Harry said which got Ted a nudge from Andromeda while Sirius joked about who was in control of the marriage.</p><p>“Tonks currently has ‘4908’ mana, you’ve gone up again.” Harry commented getting a satisfied nod from Tonks.</p><p>“Looks like Nymphadora is going to catch up to you soon Andy!” Sirius chortled only to get an enraged Tonks with red hair and eyes yelling at him.</p><p>“Don’t call me that!” Tonks growled at Sirius who only held his hands up in defense while chuckling.</p><p>“Nymphadora? So that’s what the N in your initials stands for.” Harry realized since Tonks refused to tell Harry her first name and he’d only managed to find out it started with an N.</p><p>“Don’t you start using that name, mister!” Tonks threatened with her right index finger pointed at Harry. He nodded quickly knowing that Tonks wouldn’t hesitate to hit him with her Wandless Stinging Hex.</p><p>“Oh Nymphadora is a perfectly nice name. I don’t know why you dislike it so much.” Andromeda sighed while Ted rubbed her back.</p><p>“You don’t have to live with it!” Tonks grumbled as she pouted and played with the end of her Enchanted Scarf.</p><p>“I think it’s pretty.” Harry shrugged getting a smile from Andromeda while Tonks looked at him in shock and a dusting of pink overtook her cheeks.</p><p>“You hush, Harry!” Tonks demanded as she let a weak Stinging Hex leave her finger and hit his leg.</p><p>“Oi!” Harry whined as he rubbed the weak feeling on his leg. It went away fast enough but it was still annoying. It was only afterwards that the two realized that the room had gone completely silent.</p><p>“Nymphadora…honey…did you just use Wandless Magic?” Andromeda breathed out as she looked at her daughter. All the adults were staring at her in shock while she turned to Harry with a look of such remorse and apology on her face that it almost hurt Harry to see it.</p><p>“It’s all right, Tonks, they’re your family. You can tell them.” Harry reassured her making all the adults look at him.</p><p>“Harry can use Wandless Magic and he taught me and Penny how.” Tonks admitted getting stunned looks from the adults. After a moment Andromeda let out a muffled squeal of delight as she enveloped her daughter in a hug.</p><p>“My baby is so strong!” Andromeda praised as she held her daughter close and ran a hand through her daughter’s ever changing hair. Ted beamed at his daughter while Remus and Sirius gave impressed congratulations.</p><p>“So Harry, are you going to let all of us in on your secret?” Sirius teased getting Harry to realize that his plans to make his Wandless Magic a Potter Family Secret might be much harder than he initially thought.</p><p>“No! This was Harry’s discovery and he wants to keep it a Family Secret! Don’t pester him!” Tonks practically growled at Sirius causing the man to once again raise his hands in defense. Especially since he now knew that she could hex him without a wand.</p><p>“Family Secret? A Potter Family Secret?” Andromeda questioned as she looked over at Harry who nodded shyly.</p><p>“Exactly, so please don’t ask me to teach you, I made a promise I wouldn’t.” Tonks stated getting understanding nods form her parents.</p><p>“My little girl is getting betrothed! I’m so happy for you honey!” Andromeda smiled brightly as she pulled her daughter into a hug.</p><p>“What?!” Harry shouted startled.</p><p>“Mum!” Tonks cried out embarrassed as her hair rapidly shifted through colors.</p><p>“Good on you, Harry, Nymphadora is a great girl!” Sirius cheered while Remus looked back and forth between Harry and Tonks. Ted looked a little lost among everyone else.</p><p>“Can someone explain what’s going on to me?” Harry asked confused getting a nod of agreement from Ted.</p><p>“You don’t know?” Andromeda questioned still holding Tonks in a hug. When Harry shook his head Andromeda started to explain. “When an unwed Wizard or Witch offers a Family Secret to another Witch or Wizard it is considered the first part of starting a betrothal. A Family Secret offered is stating intent to bring the other person into your Family.”</p><p>“Mum! Harry didn’t mean it like that! He agreed to teach me and Penny to get familiar with teaching it, so that when he has children he’d know where to start.” Tonks explained while Harry’s face was as red as it had ever been from embarrassment.</p><p>“Oh, so he offered to teach you both? Nymphadora multiple marriages, while still legal, have fallen out of use in the last several generations. But if you three have it worked out I’m still happy for you.” Andromeda smiled getting Tonks to sigh as her mother clearly wasn’t listening.</p><p>“Mum, seriously, it’s not like that.” Tonks stated dully finally making Andromeda calm down a bit.</p><p>“Oh? That’s too bad, are you sure? You’d have to wait a few years for Harry to reach Majority so he can get married of course; but I think you two would be good for each other.” Andromeda stated as she released her daughter from the hug.</p><p>“She did offer marriage to me and Penny.” Harry chuckled getting all the adults eyes to widen, especially Ted’s. “But it’s not right for her to chain herself to me when she has five years to find someone better for her.”</p><p>“Hey, I think it’s a good idea! You’re the one being stubborn about it, mister!” Tonks retorted getting Harry to blush again. “Besides, Penny is totally on board even if she won’t admit it yet!”</p><p>“Tonks you can’t just decide for her.” Harry replied with his hands raised in a placating gesture.</p><p>“I’m not; she’s being stubborn about it just like you!” Tonks pouted. “The three of us could make it work, we like each other well enough. Besides you want a good sized family anyway.”</p><p>“Well…I mean…that’s true…but…” Harry stammered out beyond embarrassed. Especially after seeing Sirius and Remus barely holding back full on laughter at his predicament.</p><p>“I’ll want a couple after a few years too, you know.” Tonks admitted getting Harry to nearly go light headed from the heat of his face alone. Andromeda’s eyes practically lit up at the thought of grandchildren while Ted’s entire face paled considerably.</p><p>“Harry, my godson…” Sirius stated in a stiff tone making Harry and Tonks both look towards the normally jovial man. “I approve of this union!” The prankster laughed as he gave Harry a thumbs up while bursting into raucous laughter along with Remus.</p><p>“Sirius!” Harry choked out sending both Remus and Sirius even deeper into their laughing fits.</p><p>“My daughter is getting betrothed!” Andromeda exclaimed again while pulling Tonks back into a hug.</p><p>“Mum! He hasn’t agreed to anything!” Tonks argued as she was squeezed by her mother.</p><p>“My little girl…” Ted mumbled out having a hard time processing how fast his daughter seemed to be growing up in her final year at Hogwarts. He wasn’t ready for his baby girl to be an adult!</p><p>“I need a minute.” Harry stated softly as he leaned back in his chair and tried not to pass out from emotional overload. Sirius and Remus were in fully belly laughter at this point, neither of them had laughed this hard in years. Over an hour later Harry was happily chatting with Sirius, Remus, Andromeda and Ted. Tonks was being her usual playful self again and Harry couldn’t remember a time he’d felt more a part of a family than right now.</p><p>“So, Harry, since I’m your legal guardian in the Magical World I was wondering if you’d want to live with me once I’m cleared to live on my own?” Sirius offered getting Harry to smile brightly. He’d been waiting a decade for his Godfather to wake up and offer him a home. The Dursleys had done everything that was normal and proper, but the emotional distance had been clearly obvious. To be part of a family that wanted him and all that included was one of the few things he truly desired in the world.</p><p>“If you want me too, I’d like that very much, Sirius.” Harry agreed getting a beaming smile from Sirius.</p><p>“Great! We’ll have a great time!” Sirius cheered getting Remus to shake his head fondly. It was good to have his friend back.</p><p>“Sirius will be staying with us until he’s recovered.” Andromeda stated getting a nod of thanks from Sirius. “We’ll have to look at what properties are available until the summer. You most certainly are not staying at Grimmauld Place. That horrible old building isn’t fit for habitation anymore.”</p><p>“Works for me.” Sirius nodded, he had no love for the place after all.</p><p>“Mr. Potter, I hate to interrupt but we should be going soon.” Flitwick announced as he stuck his head into the room.</p><p>“Yes Professor.” Harry replied as he sighed. With heartfelt goodbyes Harry separated from the group only for Tonks to pull him back by the shoulder and plant a kiss on his cheek in front of everyone.</p><p>“Make sure you consider the betrothal, Harrikins!” Tonks grinned and winked at him. Harry’s face went straight back to dark red as Sirius and Remus chortled and Andromeda’s eyes shone with hope.</p><p>“Ok…” Harry mumbled back as he made his way out the door and quickly started following Professor Flitwick.</p><p>“He said he’ll consider it!” Andromeda cheered so loudly Harry heard her down the hall. Harry didn’t think he could handle much more embarrassment today!</p><p>“Should I be congratulating you, Mr. Potter?” Flitwick asked amused.</p><p>“Professor…” Harry groaned getting chuckles from the Charms Master. It was a short time later that the two arrived back to the castle, Harry once again falling almost flat on his face.</p><p>“What a day.” Harry sighed as he flopped down into his bed in Ravenclaw Tower. He’d met Sirius and now he had a family to go home to in the summer; a family that wanted him, Magic and all. He couldn’t help but smile at this fact as he picked up Hermione’s gift to him and cracked it open. A bit of relaxing reading would do him some good for the rest of the day. Now to see what other Enchanters had gotten famous for making. With that Harry spent the rest of the day reading through ‘Famous Enchanted Objects from around the World’. He came across an entry about a Magical Swordsmith from Japan who had made a couple of Magic Swords in the past. This entry seemed to be from a historical record rather than an interview like some of the other entries.</p><p>“Hmm, Magic Swords, huh?” Harry mused thoughtfully, as he read over the entry and learned about this Magical Swordsmith and his famous blades. One known as Akukoroga and the other Kazakiriryuga, apparently both had been made from the fangs of Magical Creatures. Some kind of Yokai for the Akukoroga and a Dragon native to Japan for the Kazakiriryuga. “Interesting, this is Creature Craft as Enchanters call it, making an Enchanted Object out of the hair, scales, fangs, claws, horns and other such things of Magical Creatures. I wonder if I could learn that?” Speaking of Magical Swords the most famous one in Britain was of course, Excalibur, maybe he should check the Library and see what the Magical World knew about that particular sword? Well that would be for tomorrow for now he’d get to a stopping point and get some sleep.</p><p>The next day Harry plundered the Library for any books regarding Excalibur or other Legendary Magical Items. Sadly even the Magical World didn’t seem to know very much about Excalibur. It was known that it was forged in England around the time that King Arthur was around and that it had many Magical Abilities. Other than that however, no one seemed to be able to agree on much else about the sword. There weren’t even any guesses about who had forged it in the first place. The other Magical Swords he’d read about were usually better explained but some were still mysteries just like Excalibur. The Sword of Gryffindor was mentioned and it was supposedly forged by Goblins at Godric Gryffindor’s request. The main ability was that the sword would take in any substance or ability that made it stronger. That was fascinating but something struck Harry as odd about the history of the sword.</p><p>“Goblins hate Wizards and Witches. Why would they forge a sword for Gryffindor?” Harry wondered as he finished the section on Gryffindor’s Sword by finding out the weapon had disappeared after Godric’s death and no one had seen it since. Harry may not know the most about goblins but he was fairly sure that they wouldn’t create something for any Wizard that was as powerful as the stories claimed. “Something doesn’t seem right about this story.” He mused as he closed the book and moved onto the next one.</p><p>After lunch Harry had retreated to his work shop with both books he’d received about Enchanting. He’d keep the ‘Beginners Alchemy for Enchanters’ inside his workshop until he could order the basic ingredients with which to practice the art. Padma’s gift he’d start studying now and whenever he had some extra time. Devanagari would be a long process to learn but if he went at it a bit at a time he’d eventually be able to use it for his Enchanting just like Elder and Younger Futhark. In the mean time he’d spend the remainder of his free time during the break to work more on his Rune Safe’s array. He’d practice a little with learning to play the flute Hagrid had made him too.</p><p>-Three Days Later-</p><p>Three days. Three bloody days! Why couldn’t he figure out how to make the mana absorption sequence integrate with his multi-layered security array? He didn’t want to remove any of the security sequences in the array when he’d finally gotten them to work together successfully! That accomplishment in and of itself had taken him the better part of a month. No way was he going to undo all of that work now! But he’d basically been bashing his head against a brick wall trying to figure this out. He’d rewritten the mana absorption sequence over a dozen times. Tweaking how fast it absorbed or how much it could absorb all at once. He’d even gone through the entirety of the security array and looked for any sections that would prevent an absorption sequence from working. He’d found nothing of the sort in the array. He’d tried integrating the absorption sequence into the security array half a dozen different ways; but the Runes needed to create the absorption sequence would interfere with the security array’s Runes if he added them in at certain points so he was limited in where he could add the sequence. There had to be something he was missing! Theoretically this should be able to work, so why wasn’t it? A rumbling from Harry’s stomach alerted him that he hadn’t eaten since breakfast. With a sigh he set down the papers and parchments he’d been testing sequences out on and left his workshop to get some lunch.</p><p>“Oh yeah, my order.” Harry remembered as he saw a large Owl Order owl sitting at the head of the Ravenclaw Table. As soon as Harry got close the owl hooted at him and he approached it to relieve it of his package. After taking the package from the owl the bird left the Great Hall quickly. Harry kept his package next to himself while he ate and took it with him back to his workshop when he finished his lunch. Smiling giddily as he opened the package and removed everything inside of it, Harry couldn’t help be pleased. After all, this Alchemist Starter Kit, as it was called in the Owl Order Catalogue had cost him six Galleons. But it truly did come with everything a beginner needed to start practicing the art. Base metals ground down into powder, a set of metal sheets on which basic alchemic transmutation circles had been perfectly etched, and a dozen other ingredients like reagents, catalysts, and stabilizers made from magical plants or ground up dragon bones.</p><p>As it turned out the reason that Alchemy was difficult to learn was because it required knowledge of multiple fields. Some Geology, some Herbology, Magical Theory, and even some knowledge about which parts of Magical Creatures were the most reactive. Harry already had some knowledge about stones from Primary school, his Herbology wasn’t great but he didn’t get below Exceeds Expectations on his work. Magical Theory he was rather ahead in and a good amount of book reading, plus some questions for Hagrid, should see his knowledge of Magical Creatures and their uses increase sufficiently. After reading through the first several chapters of his beginners alchemy book Harry felt confident that he could make the most basic alchemical compound he was interested in. Simply called ‘Circuit Base’ it was a compound that could channel mana through it and keep whatever effect the mana was producing while it travelled.</p><p>“Alright, let’s follow the directions, step one is to melt copper in a vessel.” Harry stated to himself as he got his blacksmithing tools ready and got a fire going. With some time the copper melted and Harry proceeded to the second step. “Mix in five units of powdered dragon bone and six units of Ugi Grass stabilizer to the molten copper.” Measuring out the appropriate amounts of both materials with the provided scoops was easy enough and using a steel rod to stir them into the molten copper only took a few minutes. “The final step is to pour magic into the mixture until it glows. After the glow subsides it will be ready to use. The warning says that it will solidify if allowed to cool. That’s obvious though.” Harry added mana to the mixture continuously until it glowed like the sun was reflecting off of it. He quickly went to grab a few planks of wood and his Alchemic Rune Kit while he waited for the glow to subside.</p><p>Harry etched two simple runic sequences onto each end of the first piece of wood. Then he carved a line from each of them that met in the middle of the plank. If his ‘Circuit Base’ was made correctly it would spread the effect of each sequence to the middle of the plank and the two effects would both occur where the lines met. Noticing the glow had faded away Harry dipped the tip of a tool called an ‘Alchemic Pen’ into the ‘Circuit Base’ liquid and felt it pull the mixture into the compartment inside. With a steady hand Harry filled each Rune of both sequences with the circuit base and then filled in both lines. Setting the pen aside Harry placed a small metal bowl in the middle of the plank. Then he activated both runic sequences and watched the metal bowl eagerly hoping his first attempt worked. Seeing the bowl slowly fill with water made Harry grin, he outright cheered when that water started steaming and then boiling a moment later.</p><p>“Success! Both the ‘Water Gathering’ sequence and the ‘Heating’ sequence effects were applied to the bowl! Deactivating both sequences Harry pulled on one of his blacksmithing gloves and removed the hot metal bowl of water off the wood plank. He dumped the water out into the sink in the bathroom before returning and grabbing another plank of wood. This time he etched two sequences that couldn’t be put together without their individual Runes interfering with each other. After filling both sequences with circuit base he filled the two lines he’d carved all over the top of the plank between the two sequences. “Here goes nothing.” Harry remarked as he held his hand over the wood plank and conjured fire. When the plank didn’t burn Harry smiled. “The ‘Fire Protection’ sequence is working.” He grinned. Next Harry pulled out his wand, this next spell he hadn’t gotten to work wandlessly yet. “Infrigoreum.” He intoned and watched closely to see if the spell took effect. Not seeing anything change Harry stowed his wand away and touched the plank. “Not even cold. The ‘Freeze Proof’ sequence is also working!” The eleven year old couldn’t contain himself and jumped around his workshop laughing and cheering at his success. It was only the first steps of Alchemy but they worked! He could use Alchemy for his Enchanting now! This opened up an innumerable amount of paths for his future as an Enchanter! The Title of Artificer wasn’t just a pipe dream now, he could actually achieve it!</p><p>“This could be just what I need to finish my Rune Safe! If I use circuit base to connect the mana absorption sequence to the security array they should link up and apply their effects together.” Harry surmised as he continued to think on his current project. “I need to make sure they can link up through a circuit when etched into metal. I’ll need more metal so another trip to ‘reclaim’ some from an abandoned classroom is required. If this works my Rune Safe will be more secure than any trunk on the market!”</p><p>The next day Harry had ‘acquired’ enough metal to begin his tests. Pounding out ten flat metal bars in the smithy took the rest of the day but he’d be ready to experiment first thing in the morning! Harry had a hard time getting to sleep that night from sheer excitement. Waking up the next morning he ate breakfast quickly before heading to his workshop to start his experiments.</p><p>“Failure! Bloody hell!” Harry groused as his sixth metal bar failed to hold all the properties of his combined security and absorption array. This was his sixth attempt at connecting the absorption sequence into the array with circuit base lines. He still had a few more tries left but he was starting to think he was missing something else. “Alright, let’s try this again.” Harry breathed out as he tried to calm down. The seventh try wasn’t any more successful than his first six. Neither was the eighth attempt or the ninth. Tossing his newest failure into the pile of failures Harry sighed as he made his next and final attempt before he’d have to get more metal and forge it into shape.</p><p>“Failed again! Why? What am I missing?” Harry demanded to no one as he roughly tossed his tenth failed bar into the pile and stewed on his lack of progress. Why wouldn’t the metal hold his connected array? There was nothing wrong with how the sequences were placed and the circuit base lines were connecting the array together properly. What was he missing, there had to be some reason he wasn’t seeing. But what could it possibly be? Pacing back and forth through his workshop for several minutes yielded no answers as Harry continued to mull over his dilemma, there had to be something wrong with his method. Staring over at his piled of failures lying haphazardly on the stone floor he noticed that a few of the bars had fallen into a rhombus shape together.</p><p>“Wait a minute…could it be?” Harry pondered as he moved over to the pile and rearranged the failures into squares on the floor. Seeing two squares of four metal bars each sparked his thought process. He noticed that the circuit lines from the individual bars touched where the bars met. The effect would spread correctly if they were a single piece, or at least connected properly together. Like a singular item! “That’s it. That’s it! It’s the form!” Harry exclaimed to the empty classroom as he grinned and quickly left the room to ‘acquire’ more metal.</p><p>It was the morning after his epiphany and Harry had scrounged up all the metal he could find last night. He’d hit every single abandoned classroom on the sixth floor and taken every bit of metal he could find. It was almost all iron but that suited Harry’s purposes just fine. He’d made sure to take extra food from breakfast this morning so that he wouldn’t have to stop his work to go to lunch. It was time to get to work! Harry spent the rest of the day heating the iron pieces in the forge, pounding the hot iron pieces together into single sheets. His mana was imbued into the iron with every strike of the hammer. He had sweat more on this day than any other day in his life. Near what would be dinner time Harry was finished with the first part of his creation. Cooling after being dumped in the slack tub and then levitated back out was an iron box with one side missing and another slab of iron with a handle on the left side of it and on the upper and lower corners  of the right side were two bits of metal protruding from the ‘top’ and ‘bottom’ of the slab. This would be the door for the iron box.</p><p>“That took a while.” Harry smiled to himself. His Safe’s form was complete at least. It wasn’t very big at the moment only being forty five centimeters tall, wide, and deep. But it would hold a nice amount of money and once he worked in his array it would be as unbreakable and secure as he could make it. “Let’s wash up, I definitely need dinner.” He chuckled as he headed into the bathroom that was in the smithy. A quick shower and Harry deemed himself clean enough to head down to the Great Hall for dinner. He ate more than normal but with how much physical exertion he’d done today, not to mention the amount of mana he’d expended, he felt he’d earned it.</p><p>The next morning Harry grinned happily at his two parts and marveled at how imbuing his mana into the iron had helped him shape it into his desired form so quickly. A normal blacksmith would have taken several days to get the Safe’s body finished as they slowly forged the iron walls and then forged them together into a box. His mana had made the iron shape to his will faster and come out as he’d wanted it. That would probably explain the deep sleep he’d experienced last night. He hadn’t checked his mana since the demonstration in the Great Hall but he was fairly certain he’d probably used somewhere close to eighty percent of his mana yesterday.</p><p>“Just have to set the door into the Safe and then we’ll get to the Rune work.” Harry nodded to himself as he pulled out his wand. It irked him something fierce that he still had so many spells he couldn’t do wandlessly. But he’d been so preoccupied with his Rune Safe lately that he’d put off some of his Wandless Magic practice trying to get the Safe made. “Reducio.” He intoned pointing his wand at the iron door. The metal shrank slightly and Harry picked it up. Fitting the hinge points into the holes he’d made in the box was easy enough. Now he just had to restore the door to its proper size and it should fit perfectly. A Wandless ‘Finite’ saw the door clicking into place with a thud as it returned to its normal size. Testing the door and seeing how it opened and closed, making sure it fit into the grooves of the safe and closed securely was a success as well. Now came the process of etching the Runic Array and then filling it with ‘Circuit Base’ to connect it to the entirety of the safe. Many would wonder why the Safe didn’t have a physical lock but Harry could only grin. Once the Rune work was done the whole safe would ‘BE’ the lock. One of the security sequences would only allow the door to be opened by the first person to charge the array. Harry was going to be that first person and so the Safe would never open for anyone else.</p><p>-Two Days Later-</p><p>“Finally done.” Harry smiled as he looked over his finished work one last time. All the Runes were precisely etched and in perfect shape. The ‘Circuits’ made from ‘Circuit Base’ were connecting the array together properly. The Safe was ready to be charged with mana for the first time. Etching the array in three dimensions had been challenging to say the least. Having to make sure each circuit line was unbroken as it moved over the edges and corners of the safe had required intense focus. But it had all been worth it; the circuits were solid and covered the entirety of the inside of the safe. They would impart all aspects of his Security Array to the entirety of the Rune Safe, including the circuit connected Absorption Sequence. With a grin Harry placed his hand on the center of the array on the inside of the safe. He’d centered the array on the back wall so he’d be able to work from that point outward and end on the back of the door. Feeling his mana being taken in by the array and watching as the Runes began to glow was amazing for Harry. Watching as the circuits glowed as his mana travelled through them was satisfying and eventually the entire inside of the safe was glowing faintly with his mana.</p><p>“Oh, so that’s what that feels like.” Harry mumbled as he felt the ‘Permanent Locking’ sequence attune itself to his mana. It suddenly felt like the whole safe was a part of him for a few seconds before the feeling faded away. Harry continued to charge the Rune Safe’s array until he felt a noticeable drop in his mana. Cutting off the flow and pulling his hand back, Harry watched on as the array slowly dimmed until the glow wasn’t really noticeable anymore. “Now we wait.” Harry muttered as he closed the Rune Safe’s door feeling the array activate and secure the safe. If everything was working properly then when he came back the next morning with Tonks and Penny to show them the completed Rune Safe it should still be working perfectly as it absorbed mana from the air. In a place as overflowing with magic as Hogwarts the Safe would probably just get stronger as it absorbed more and more mana. He’d purposefully added in the ‘Strengthening’ sequence to the array so that excess mana would be used to make the Safe and its effects stronger. Eventually the Safe would ‘bleed off’ any mana that exceeded the materials’ ability to store mana and leave it ‘fully charged’ for lack of any better term. “I can’t wait to show this to Penny and Tonks!”</p><p>The next morning the students that had left for Yule Break returned. Harry enthusiastically greeted his friends and was hugged by Penny before both were pulled into a group hug by Tonks. Harry could only smile and laugh as he reunited with his two closest friends. Penny had thanked him profusely for his gift to her and Harry had to admit that seeing both Penny and Tonks wearing what he made for them caused a feeling of warm joy to blossom in his chest.</p><p>“So what’s this new item you’re so eager to show us?” Penny questioned with a smile as Harry was practically dragging her and Tonks towards his workshop. They’d barely had time to put their things away because Harry was so eager.</p><p>“It’s the one I was having such trouble with for so long! I finally figured it out!” Harry enthused getting a smile from the Prefect while Tonks chuckled.</p><p>“We’re coming Harry, you don’t need to drag us around.” Tonks laughed as Harry continued to urge them forward. Once the group arrived to the workshop Harry proudly presented his Rune Safe to his closest friends.</p><p>“You made a safe? Why?” Penny asked curiously as she and Tonks looked the iron box over.</p><p>“I don’t trust the Goblins, to be honest. I’ve only had a single meeting with my Account Overseer and he tried to make off with more than twenty percent of what remains of my Family’s money. So since the Goblins seem in the market of extorting their vault holders I decided to keep my money under my own protection.” Harry explained getting nods from both girls. Both had been raised in the Magical World, though Penny had a good bit of exposure to the Non-magical World as well because of her various Muggle relatives. Neither could truthfully state that a Witch or Wizard could ever truly trust a Goblin.</p><p>“Can we open it?” Tonks asked wanting to see the inside.</p><p>“Give it a try.” Harry grinned trying not to laugh. Tonks tried to open the safe only for it to remain closed.</p><p>“Oh, ha ha, very funny mister!” Tonks pouted as Harry couldn’t stifle his chuckles. “So how does it unlock?”</p><p>“It doesn’t.” Harry smirked getting baffled looks from both girls.</p><p>“But if it doesn’t unlock then how are you going to use it?” Penny questioned while Tonks nodded along confused.</p><p>“I’ll just open the door and put what I want inside of course.” Harry smiled as he walked over and easily pulled open the door. The looks of curiosity had Harry chuckling again. “I’m the only one in the world that can open this door. The ‘Permanent Lock’ sequence that’s part of the Rune Array is attuned to my mana now. It won’t open for anyone else.”</p><p>“That’s actually really cool.” Tonks nodded impressed.</p><p>“Harry this is amazing! You’ve made something truly impressive.” Penny congratulated making Harry blush slightly at the praise while also puffing up just a bit. Both girls looked inside the now open safe and noticed the large sprawling series of lines covering the inside and the small runes etched into the back. Neither girl could make heads or tails of the lines so Harry explained it to them when they’d asked.</p><p>“I’m so glad you’re using my gift!” Penny exclaimed happily as she gave Harry another hug.</p><p>“It’s thanks to your gift that I was able to take this next step in my Enchanting, Penny. I should be thanking you!” Harry replied as he returned the hug.</p><p>“Hey what about mine?” Tonks pouted dramatically making Harry roll his eyes fondly.</p><p>“Your gift was invaluable to this success as well. Do you want a…” Harry started only for Tonks to practically rush him and pull him into a hug. “Hug?” He finished as the breath was being squeezed out of him.</p><p>“Tonks, I think he needs air.” Penny spoke up after a few moments. Harry’s face was getting very red after all. Tonks grinned as she released him and chuckled as Harry drew in a long deep breath.</p><p>“Oh yeah, Penny, we need to talk about the betrothal!” Tonks smiled brightly.</p><p>“Betrothal? What betrothal?” Penny asked confused.</p><p>“Tonks!” Harry yelled his face now red for an entirely different reason.</p><p>
  <strong>-End Chapter-</strong>
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  <strong>There it is! Sirius the Dogfather is back bitches! Hide your pretty women! Harry has a new home to return to for the breaks and summers! He was finally able to finish his Rune Safe as well! Where will our budding Artificer’s study and curiosity take him next? Keep reading to find out!</strong>
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  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Next Sale, Too Many Letters!</h2></a>
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  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Now that the Rune Safe is finished what’s the next project for Harry?</strong>
  
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  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
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  <strong>Chapter 7 – Next Sale, Too Many Letters!</strong>
</p><p>“Bloody hell, again?!” Harry groused as he stared at the stack of letters that had been dropped off at breakfast. He could hear the murmurings of his schoolmates as everyone in the Great Hall stared at the pile of letters. It had been this way since shortly after the Holidays, every morning a flock of owls would drop off a new pile of letters from Magical Scholars, Enchanters, Companies, and even just random curious Witches and Wizards. He’d tried to answer each of them the first day but when another pile had been delivered the next day, and the one after that, he’d quickly realized that he’d never be able to answer them all.</p><p>“Tough being famous, eh, Harrikins?” Tonks smiled as she helped him gather the pile into a neat stack.</p><p>“There’s just too many. I can’t possibly answer them all.” Harry sighed as he ate more of his breakfast.</p><p>“If its anything like last time the majority of them are asking the same few questions. Maybe you could answer them all at once?” Penny offered from his other side.</p><p>“Like an article in the Prophet or something?” Tonks inquired after she swallowed her mouthful of food.</p><p>“It couldn’t hurt. The Prophet takes a bit of time to get to the further parts of the International Magical Community. Then it takes the owls a while to fly all the way here. These letters only started coming in over the last few days, so I’d bet that they’re from further abroad than the first six Harry got.” Penny reasoned as Harry listened and nodded at her hypothesis.</p><p>“Could I get your help going through these? If I can find out the most commonly asked questions then I’ll know what to put in the article.” Harry asked getting nods of agreement from Tonks and Penny.</p><p>-After Classes-</p><p>“So we’ve narrowed down the three most common questions so far. The first is, ‘How did you create your unit of measurement’. The second was, ‘Can you sell the person a Scouter directly’. Finally the third question is, ‘What does the reading mean’.” Penny summarized as the three finally finished the pile of letters Harry had gotten over the last few days.</p><p>“The first two will be easy enough, just have to explain my Lumos Charm experiment and how I found the lowest amount of mana that’ll make the spell work. The second is a simple, ‘I don’t have enough time to make Scouters to sell directly’ so that’s an easy answer. The third will be a bit harder to explain, the reading doesn’t mean anything by itself. It’s just how much mana the person has. A Wizard or Witch isn’t stuck with whatever number they first get; they can increase their mana through more actively using spells. But that may not satisfy all of the people asking.” Harry stated as he leaned back in his chair.</p><p>“I think those are all the answers you need, Harrikins. They answer the questions asked sufficiently and if anyone has some kind of follow up then they can write to you.” Tonks claimed getting a smile from Harry in return.</p><p>‘Since we’re on the subject of articles anyway I thought I’d let you know that I’ve finished the advert for the Test Frames. If you’d give it a look over you’ll be set to start selling them.” Penny spoke as she handed Harry the advert she’d finished. “The only thing left to put on it is how many are currently available for sale. How many were you able to get done, Harry?”</p><p>“Three dozen, anytime I felt like I was slamming my head into a brick wall with the Rune Safe I worked on making Test Frames, or learning some more Devanagari, or learning to play the wooden flute Hagrid gave me for Christmas. I’m still pants at the flute but I know a few characters of Devanagari now.” Harry informed her getting surprised looks from both Tonks and Penny. “What? I had a lot of time on my hands without any classes or homework to get in the way. You two had already transfigured tons of Frames for me so I just had to etch the runic sequence and then apply the wooden overlay with Ollivander’s self-destruction sequence on it.”</p><p>“You’re some kind of workaholic, Harrikins.” Tonks shook her head playfully.</p><p>“It’s called ‘work ethic’ Tonks and there is nothing wrong with it.” Penny claimed with a faux snooty tone as she tilted her head so her nose was pointing into the air. Tonks and Harry chuckled at Penny’s act knowing that Penny often dealt with Percy Weasley during her Prefect duties. The oldest Weasley currently in Hogwarts was quite the stickler for the rules and seemed to abhor any kind of procrastination or laziness.</p><p>“Well I like the advert so just put that there are thirty six for sale and I’ll send it to the Owl Order Service.” Harry nodded as he handed the advert back to Penny.</p><p>“Are you still set on the price of six Galleons?” Penny asked for clarification happy that Harry liked the advert she’d made with him.</p><p>“Yeah, I think it’s a fair price based on what the Frame does. I fully expect a few businesses to have their Frame attached to their counter or a wall of their shop so that customers can pay to use it. Even at only a Knut per use they’ll probably make their money back in less than six months.” Harry reasoned as Penny nodded at his hypothesis.</p><p>“Well let’s get this article written so we can get to the fun stuff!” Tonks exclaimed with her arms in the air and a grin on her face. She was always more of an ‘action’ girl and was far more interested in practicing Wandless Magic than writing an article.</p><p>“You shouldn’t rush these things, Tonks. The better the article answers the questions the sooner Harry will stop getting bombarded by mail. Then we’ll have more time for practice.” Penny replied getting Tonks to grudgingly agree before pouting and offering her help.</p><p>-The Weekend-</p><p>Harry sighed happily even though he still had a new stack of mail to go through. The article had been sent on Tuesday and the response from the Prophet assured them it would be in the paper on Thursday morning. Seeing the article the three of them had worked on in the Prophet had given Harry hope that this excessive stream of mail would soon slow down. He was currently going through today’s batch looking for any letters that asked a question that wasn’t one of the three the article answered.</p><p>“Hey, I got a response from Madam Aveline.” Harry grinned as he opened the letter and started to read. The French Magical Scholar had written back to accept his offer of buying a Scouter directly and had even included the ten Galleons in the envelope. The woman was showing a lot of trust in Harry by sending the money along without any guarantee that he’d send the Scouter back to her. Harry smiled as he walked into his smithy and pulled open the door to his safe. Carefully placing the ten Galleons inside with the other coins that were already stacked in the safe he picked up the Scouter he’d set aside for Madam Aveline back in December. Wrapping it securely in cloth and placing it into a small wooden box he’d glued together from spare pieces of wood, Harry looked over the runes he’d etched onto the box. ‘Durability sequence? Check. Water Proof sequence? Check. That should be enough to get it to her safely.’ He thought to himself as he left his workshop and headed for the Owlery. He sent Hedwig off with the parcel and watched until he couldn’t see his owl anymore before leaving.</p><p>“Wotcher Harrikins!” Tonks announced herself as she met him outside his workshop. The bubbly Metamorphmagus had taken to practicing in his workshop on the weekends to get ready for the Auror Exams that she planned to take after she graduated Hogwarts. Apparently blasting the old stone walls was also a good stress relief from preparing for NEWT exams for the Seventh Year as well.</p><p>“Morning Tonks, had a bit of a lie in this morning?” Harry greeted as he opened the door for her.</p><p>“Not all of us like getting up early on the weekends like you Ravenclaws.” Tonks snarked since Harry and Penny often were up by no later than eight in the morning on the weekends.</p><p>“Just don’t want to waste the day is all.” Harry shrugged before watching Tonks stumble over her own two feet before she righted herself.</p><p>“Damn it.” Tonks cursed as she sent a look at Harry. “Not a word, mister!”</p><p>“Didn’t say a thing…” Harry grinned with his hands up placating his friend. “You klutz.”</p><p>“I said not a word you prat!” Tonks huffed as she let off her Wandless Stinging Hex. Harry darted to the side to avoid the spell prompting Tonks to launch another one. “Hold still! You have this coming!”</p><p>“I spoke only the truth!” Harry called back before taking a deep breath and exhaling a cloud of smoke that quickly covered the side of the room Tonks was in. That was a new spell Harry had picked up and made Wandless over the break. ‘Fluctus Fumus’ or the ‘Billowing Smoke’ spell was used to obscure vision and hamper breathing. It was often used as an escape spell by the cornered Witch or Wizard. Harry had found it in one of his trips to the Library and decided to learn it for the utility it provided.</p><p>“Colligentes Caeli!” Tonks incanted as all the smoke quickly gathered into a small ball at the tip of her wand. “Finite.” With the Dispelling Charm used the smoke ball vanished and Tonks grinned as she trained her wand on Harry.</p><p>“I thought you wanted to work on your Wandless Magic? So why are you using your wand?” Harry teased the older witch making her stick her tongue out at him.</p><p>“You hush! You’re lucky I don’t hex you for that too!” Tonks threatened before she stowed her wand back in its holster. “Now watch what I was able to get working over the break!”</p><p>“Alright, show me what you managed.” Harry smiled as Tonks held up her hand, palm facing outwards, and a translucent barrier formed in front of the girl.</p><p>“I made Protego Wandless! I’m sure that’ll get me bonus points on both the NEWTS and in the Auror Exam!” Tonks beamed at her accomplishment getting applause from Harry.</p><p>“That’s brilliant, Tonks! I still haven’t had much luck with Protego. Or with Fulmen either, now that I think about it. But I did spend a lot of my time over break getting the Rune Safe finished. I guess I should get back into Practical Magic now.” Harry congratulated his friend.</p><p>“Well I could use a training buddy since Penny has her boring Prefect meeting today.” Tonks grinned as she pointed her right index finger at Harry. “Now dance my minion!” She cackled as she launched a Stinging Hex at her friend.</p><p>“Oi! Who do you think you’re calling a minion?!” Harry shouted back as he blasted her hex out of the air with his Flipendo spell. “This means war!” With that Harry launch a small volley of his own Stinging Hexes at Tonks. The Seventh Year only laughed harder as she summoned her Protego and let his hexes bounce off her shield.</p><p>“You’re already my nerd, might as well go all in and become my minion too!” Tonks teased as she dropped her shield and launched the second spell she’d managed to make Wandless over the break. Conjured ropes flew at Harry seeking to tie the young Wizard up. Harry swiped his hand downwards and the ropes split as if they’d been sliced with a blade.</p><p>“Cutting Charm beats Incarcerous!” Harry taunted as he launched a more powerful Flipendo at Tonks. The Metamorph moved to the side to dodge the spell only to trip and fall to the floor. “Got you!” Harry called out as he launched another Flipendo at the downed girl.</p><p>“Not today, Harrikins!” Tonks mocked as her Protego reappeared and blocked the spell. “You should give up and accept your place as my minion!”</p><p>“I don’t know the meaning of the word!” Harry laughed over dramatically as he breathed out his Billowing Smoke spell to obscure Tonks’ vision. A volley of Stinging Hexes burst from the smoke forcing Harry to run to dodge them all.</p><p>“You’ll soon learn your place minion!” Tonks cackled as she rushed out of the smoke launching Stinging Hexes at Harry.</p><p>A few hours later Penny stuck her head inside the partially opened door of the workshop. Seeing Harry tied up and sitting on Tonks’ lap while said Metamorph teasingly rubbed her cheek against his was an odd sight to be sure.</p><p>“So…what did I miss?” Penny questioned as she stepped inside and closed the door behind her.</p><p>“Oh nothing, me and Harry just had some spell practice.” Tonks giggled as she continued to snuggle Harry.</p><p>“Stop it. Stop it. Stop it.” Harry mumbled over and over again as Tonks ignored him. Unfortunately the younger Wizard was low on mana and unable to do anything to escape the older girl’s hold. The embarrassed blush on his face at being seen like this only made Tonks giggle more.</p><p>“Tonks be nice.” Penny sighed as she moved over to the sitting pair and dragged a pulled a chair over to herself with a Wandless Accio Charm. Harry looked towards his Prefect friend with hope of escape and Penny smiled at him in return. “Share.” The dirty-blonde Ravenclaw requested getting Harry to look at her in complete shock.</p><p>“Sure thing!” Tonks chirped as she practically passed Harry over to Penny. The Wizard soon found himself sitting in the Prefect’s lap and being snuggled by the Fifth Year girl.</p><p>“You’re adorable when you look all tired like this.” Penny cooed at Harry as she nuzzled her cheek into his hair.</p><p>“Who are you and what have you done with Penny?” Harry asked confused, he’d never seen Penny act like this before.</p><p>“What? I can’t cuddle with my Betrothed?” Penny asked in mock shock.</p><p>“Damn it, Tonks.” Harry grumbled as Tonks broke out into a fit of laughter. He should have known the playful Witch would still talk to Penny about the situation at St. Mungos.</p><p>“Oh just enjoy the cuddles, Harrikins. You’re a lucky boy to have two pretty girls’ attention you know.” Tonks teased.</p><p>“You can just take a little nap right here, Harry. I won’t let you fall.” Penny assured as she slowly started to rock Harry back and forth.</p><p>“I’m not a baby.” Harry grumbled only to be ignored by both girls entirely. ‘One day Tonks…one day.’ He mentally swore his vengeance against the giggling Metamorph. Against his own will Harry found himself lulled to sleep by Penny’s gentle rocking, his low mana only adding to his physical exhaustion from running and dodging Tonks’ spells.</p><p>“He really is adorable when he’s asleep, isn’t he.” Tonks whispered to Penny getting a nod in return.</p><p>“Let’s let him rest for a bit, it should be close to dinner when he wakes up.” Penny smiled as she used Finite to make the ropes vanish. Tonks quickly got out her wand and conjured up a blanket and pillow for Harry.</p><p>-In France- (Can’t write French but they are speaking it.)</p><p>A knock was heard on a door that led to a tastefully decorated office. The woman behind the desk in the office looked up and checked the time. Seeing that it was the usual time the woman smiled and bid the person to enter.</p><p>“Come in.” The woman called as the door opened. The person that entered and closed the door behind them was a blonde teen of fourteen years. The teen quickly made her way in front of the desk and took a seat when the woman offered it.</p><p>“Good to see you again, Professor Aveline.” The blonde teen greeted the woman who smiled back.</p><p>“You as well, Miss Delacour, are you ready to discuss Magical Theory more in depth?” Professor Aveline inquired of her student.</p><p>“Yes Professor, I am. With the recent creation of a unit of measure for Magic I find myself brimming with questions.” Fleur responded with a beautiful smile of her own.</p><p>“Yes, young Mr. Potter has certainly made waves in the Magical Community with his Enchanting.” Professor Aveline laughed softly.</p><p>“Have you heard back from him? I hope he responded favorably to your request to purchase this, Scouter, from him. I admit I’m rather curious to know my own Magical Strength.” Fleur stated with a small sheepish grin getting an understanding nod from her Professor.</p><p>“I have and he did. I sent the Galleons along with my letter accepting his offer. I imagine I’ll have received the Scouter by next week or so. Though a most curious item has appeared in the Owl Order’s newest catalogue and I’m sure you’ll be pleased to know that I was able to purchase one.” Professor Aveline smiled as she pulled out a copy of the catalogue and opened it to the correct page. Fleur looked over the page before gasping in shock.</p><p>-Owl Order Catalogue-</p><p>Are you curious about the new way to measure a Witch or Wizard’s Magical Strength? Were you unable to purchase one of the limited Scouters from this catalogue? Well, have no fear! Harry Potter has come forward with a new creation that can tell you your Magical Strength! Behold the Test Frame! Simply hold this talisman and push your Magic into it like you would a wand and your Magical Strength will be measured and a reading will be displayed! Act quickly as only thirty six are currently available!</p><p>Item – Enchanted Object – Talisman</p><p>Name – Test Frame</p><p>Function – Measures a Witch or Wizard’s Magical Strength and displays it as a numerical value.</p><p>Creator – Harry James Potter</p><p>Price – Six Galleons</p><p>Status – Sold Out</p><p>-End Catalogue-</p><p>“He made a new Item to measure Magical Strength? Why?” Fleur wondered out loud before looking up at her Professor.</p><p>“I imagine these ‘Test Frames’ are easier to make than the Scouters. So producing many of them is probably far more profitable for the young Enchanter than only putting four or five Scouters on the market every several months.” Professor Aveline hypothesized.</p><p>“I suppose that makes sense.” Fleur responded as she looked over the picture of the Test Frame in the catalogue.</p><p>“So, what aspect of Magical Theory shall we discuss today?” Professor Aveline asked as she waved her wand and some tea and snacks floated over to the desk.</p><p>“Well as I said earlier I have many questions regarding this new means to measure Magical Strength. You’ve been in contact with Mr. Potter and I was wondering what you’ve learned about his measurement system. What is it based on? How did he come to his conclusion on what defined the base unit by which to measure? Do his Items take into account all Magical Beings or just Wizards and Witches? Is a spell defined not only by its purpose but also by the amount of Magic that is used to cast it?” Fleur asked as Professor Aveline sipped her tea.</p><p>“You do have many questions, Miss Delacour; thankfully I have solid answer for the first two at the least.” Professor Aveline smiled as she set down her tea.</p><p>“Please Professor; tell me what you’ve learned.” Fleur asked her blue eyes brimming with excitement.</p><p>“Of course, I learned this from my letters to Mr. Potter so this knowledge comes directly from the source.” Professor Aveline grinned at the eager look on her student’s face. She then proceeded to explain what Harry had told her of his tests and his discovery of the lowest amount of Magic that could successfully cast a spell. How using this minimum Lumos Charm had led to the structuring of the entire measurement system and the creation of the two Items that Harry had made.</p><p>“To think he came up with this when he is only eleven.” Fleur breathed out in shock.</p><p>“Yes, the boy is clearly a prodigy in the field of Enchanting to say the least. I dare say from our letters he seems to have quite a number of theories about Magical Theory as well. I hope to continue conversing with him about Magic in the future.” Professor Aveline nodded as she took a snack and delicately ate it.</p><p>“What of my other two questions, Professor?” Fleur inquired as she finished a sip of her own tea.</p><p>“I’m unsure how his Items react to other Magical Beings but I’ll be sure to test both of them when they arrive. In regards to spells however, I believe the purpose of a spell is defined by the caster’s intent. The more Magic you put into a spell may make it last longer or increase its effect to a degree though. But, as an example, you’ll never turn a Cutting Charm into a Severing Curse just by using more Magic. The fundamental nature of the spell is different between the two. Even though they have the same basic function and the Severing Curse requires more Magic to cast, casting the Cutting Charm with excess Magic won’t result in the same effects.” Professor Aveline explained while Fleur listened intently.</p><p>“But surely there are spells that can be considerably enhanced with more Magic used to cast them?” Fleur questioned her eyes filled with curiosity.</p><p>“Let’s use another example then. The basic Aguamenti Charm when cast with very little Magic gives you a stream of water not unlike what you’d get from a faucet. Put in more Magic and the amount and force of the water increases. The spell can range in power from the faucet all the way up to something akin to a massive torrent. Conversely the Incendio Charm only makes a gout of flame that can light a hearth or start a campfire. Both of these uses are what was intended when the spell was made. Adding more Magic makes the flame last a bit longer but that’s the extent of it. The Incendio Charm will never become strong enough to rival any Fire-based Curse, and it’ll most assuredly not become something like the Battle Magic known as the Firestorm Spell. While the Incendio Charm and the Aguamenti Charm are often considered to be a pair, or mirrors of each other, in truth the purpose and function of both spells was determined during their creation. So while one can get incredibly more powerful the more Magic is used to cast it the other is locked into a lower power requirement simply by virtue of its design.” Professor Aveline explained as Fleur thought over what she heard.</p><p>“I see, so a spell’s creation truly defines what it is. But the way in which it is used is also a factor, correct?” Fleur asked as she mulled over the nature of Spellcraft.</p><p>“Very much so, Miss Delacour.” Professor Aveline nodded as she sipped her tea to soothe her throat.</p><p>“Do you think Mr. Potter would mind me writing to him as well? I think it would be enlightening to hear about theories from another student that has obviously thought long and deeply on the nature of Magic.” Fleur asked before taking a snack for herself.</p><p>“I’ll introduce the idea to him in my next letter. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind another person to have conversations with. I’ve even been helping him learn a bit of French in our missives; usually a word or two at a time, or a common phrase to help him should he visit France in the future. He seems to be taking well to our language.” Professor Aveline smiled getting one in return from her student.</p><p>“Thank you Professor, I look forward to making a friend who is just as interested in Magic as I am. Starting as Pen Pals seems like a good way to get to know one another.” Fleur grinned as she adjusted her sitting position and started to talk more in depth with her Professor.</p><p>
  <strong>-End Chapter-</strong>
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  <strong>So there it is! The test Frames are being sold, Harry and Tonks have a playful spell fight, and Penny actually teases Harry herself! What has become of our Prefect?! Hopefully the article in the Prophet will stem the tide of letters that plague Harry so he can get back to his Wandless practice and his Enchanting! What will happen next? Keep reading to find out!</strong>
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  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Quirrel, Artifact?</h2></a>
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  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! We’re nearing the last part of First Year! What does the spring hold for our young Enchanter?</strong>
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  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
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  <strong>Chapter 8 – Quirrel, Artifact?</strong>
</p><p>Harry once again was sitting in his Defense Against the Dark Arts class, trying to understand anything the stuttering Professor Quirrel was saying. With a grimace Harry tried to tune the turban-wearing man out as he went through his textbook and studied the current material independently. Was Quirrel really the best Hogwarts could offer as a Defense Professor? If so it was pretty sad, the man jumped at the smallest of things and appeared perpetually terrified. With no viable instruction coming from the so-called ‘Professor’ Harry read through his textbook to try and learn anything.</p><p>‘Surely there’s got to be something that makes this man qualified to teach?’ Harry mused to himself. With a slow and subtle movement Harry pulled out his Scouter and focused it on the Professor that was currently facing the other side of the classroom. A quick scan and Harry saw something he’d never seen his Scouter do before. ‘4886’ appeared for a brief second before changing to ‘1050’ and Harry had no idea why. Quirrel wasn’t doing anything like casting a spell. Why was his mana bouncing more than three thousand points back and forth?</p><p>‘Wait a minute, it changed again?’ Harry stared into the lens of his Scouter confused. The numbers bouncing back and forth now read ‘4884’ and the second number was now ‘1052’ as they both repeatedly switched with one another. ‘What in the actual hell?’ He thought to himself. ‘Is the Scouter broken? It isn’t damaged and the runic sequence won’t just suddenly stop working properly. The hell is going on with Quirrel?’</p><p>After class Harry quickly left to find Penny and Tonks. He wanted to share the oddity of Quirrel’s scan and get their opinions and thoughts on the anomaly. It didn’t take long to find the two as they were both heading to dinner. Both girls smiled at him as he got their attention and walked up to them quickly.</p><p>“Evening Harry, how were your classes today?” Penny asked as Harry caught up with them.</p><p>“Wotcher Harrikins, you must be hungry running towards the Great Hall like that.” Tonks commented getting a shake of the head from Harry.</p><p>“No, not that, I just have something to tell you both; I want to get your opinion on something that happened in class.” Harry informed the two as they entered the Great Hall.</p><p>“We can eat and talk then, after that we’ll see what we can do.” Tonks offered getting agreement from Harry and Penny. So while the three ate together Harry told them about the strange fluctuation of Quirrel’s mana amount and how he couldn’t figure out what was going on. Neither girl could offer much explanation for such a large fluctuation when the Professor wasn’t casting any spells. Nor did either of them have any idea about why the highest and lowest numbers were changing. Why would the highest number be shrinking and the lowest number be growing? The three agreed to go to the workshop after dinner to test the Scouter and make sure something hadn’t gone wrong with the trinket.</p><p>“Alright Harrikins, scan me and we’ll see if the Scouter is still accurate.” Tonks offered to go first for the tests.</p><p>“Sure thing, let’s see what it says.” Harry replied as he scanned the Metamorph. “You’ve increased your mana amount again Tonks. You’re clocking in at ‘5002’ mana now. You must have been practicing a bit more lately.”</p><p>“Of course, I want to get into the Aurors after I graduate, I need to have every advantage I can otherwise I’ll be stuck in some desk job pushing papers around while I go through remedial courses. Screw that!” Tonks explained while looking disgusted at the thought of being a desk worker at the Ministry.</p><p>“I’m sure you’ll do fine, Tonks, even with your klutzy moments.” Penny assured her friend with playful ribbing thrown in. Tonks, maturely, stuck her tongue out at the blonde. “My turn, Harry, I’ve been putting in a bit more practice in preparation for the OWL exams so I’m hoping I’ve gone up a bit.”</p><p>“Well the Scouter doesn’t seem to be broken yet, so let’s get your reading.” Harry nodded as he scanned Penny. “Huh, I think we can safely say your extra practice has paid off Penny. You’re mana amount is currently ‘3678’ that’s a six hundred seventy two unit increase from when you used the Test Frame for the demonstration.” Penny smiled happily and even gave a small cheer that her practice had paid off.</p><p>“Your turn, Harrikins! Let’s see what you’ve got!” Tonks exclaimed as she took the Scouter from him and scanned the First Year. “Well now, seems you’ve been playing catch up since you spent so much of the break making your Safe. You’re sitting at ‘582’ mana right now. That’s around one hundred seventy six units more than your last demonstration. Are you trying to catch up to us?” She asked teasingly getting Harry to roll his eyes at her.</p><p>“So the Scouter isn’t broken, but that still doesn’t explain Quirrel’s weird reading.” Harry mused as he looked the Scouter over glad that it wasn’t damaged.</p><p>“Well, just keep an eye on him when you’re in class I guess. If it continues you could always tell another teacher about it. Just say you’re worried that Quirrel might not be in good health.” Tonks shrugged.</p><p>“Maybe he did something to himself and his Magic is fluctuating until it stabilizes at his original amount?” Penny theorized getting looks of confusion from Harry and Tonks. “It’s just a thought.” The Prefect stated with her own shrug.</p><p>“I guess I’ll just keep checking every now and then. If it goes on for too long I’ll bring it up to another Professor.” Harry agreed before he stood up and stretched. “So are you two up for some Wandless practice?” Tonks and Penny both agreed and the trio started working on making more of their spells Wandless.</p><p>-April 1<sup>st</sup>-</p><p>Nothing much had changed in the daily routine for Harry and his friends since January. Harry, Penny and Tonks practiced their Wandless Magic together often, trying to gain more spells and increase their mana. Harry did have a new Pen Pal thanks to Madam Aveline, one Fleur Delacour, a girl three years older than him that was quite studious when it came to Magical Theory. Learning that Madam Aveline was the Magical Theory Professor at Beauxbatons Academy of Magic had come as a small shock. He was also delighted to hear that she’d bought one of his Test Frames from the first batch he’d sold. Apparently Fleur was quite the fan of his Items and Madam Aveline had teasingly written in one of her letters that Fleur would often ask to test her mana amount when the two chatted outside of classes.</p><p>In the intervening time when he wasn’t writing to his new Pen Pal, doing schoolwork, practicing with Tonks and Penny, or checking on Quirrel’s strange mana reading; Harry had been crafting and working out new skills to use in his Enchanting. He was very proud of himself for what he’d managed to make this time. Today was Tonks’ birthday and Harry found it oddly fitting that his bubbly, goof of a friend was born on April Fools’ Day of all days. Now he just had to surprise her when she came by the workshop after classes.</p><p>“Speak of the devil.” Harry grinned when a knock came from the door. He quickly got up and let Tonks into the workshop. Before she could say much of anything Harry had opened the bottom drawer of the desk he’d commandeered as a worktable and pulled out his gift to her.</p><p>“Harry?” Tonks questioned as she looked down at the small wrapped gift he was holding out to her.</p><p>“Happy Birthday, Tonks, I hope you like it.” Harry smiled as Tonks gently took the gift and gave him a beaming smile. Unwrapping the item Tonks found a metal belt buckle with an engraving of a dragon on it.</p><p>“Aww, did you make this for me Harrikins? I’m touched.” Tonks teased though the smile on her face let him know how much she truly appreciated his gift. “It looks cool and it totally fits my style. You’ve been paying attention, huh?”</p><p>“I know you like the ‘Rocker’ style so I tried to match some of the things I’ve seen you wear before.” Harry grinned, happy that she liked his gift already. Wait until she found out what it did. “Could you try it out? I’m curious if it’ll fit the belts you wear from time to time.”</p><p>“Sure, sure just let me get this robe off.” Tonks smirked giving Harry a playful wink and giggling when she saw the dusting of red on his cheeks at her innuendo. Shrugging off the robe only took a few seconds before she attached the buckle to her belt. “It latches fine. Looks cool too. Nice job, Harrikins.” She praised only to be given a gentle push backwards sending her stumbling. She caught herself before demanding an explanation. “What was that about mister?”</p><p>“You didn’t trip or fall.” Harry replied simply as a grin spread across his face. “I’m glad it works.” Tonks looked at him confused for a few moments before her eyes widened as it dawned on her that her klutziness hadn’t sent her sprawling onto the floor.</p><p>“Harry, what did you do? What is this?” Tonks asked as she looked down at the belt buckle.</p><p>“My first talisman using Devanagari Runes, it’s an Ever Balance Talisman. When you wear it the effect of the talisman makes it almost impossible for you to trip or fall. I thought you’d like it since you have those moments sometimes.” Harry would have continued but he was suddenly wrapped in a hug from Tonks.</p><p>“Thank you, thank you, thank you! You have no idea how much this will help, Harry! I was always kinda worried that my klutziness could cost me a spot in the Aurors! But with this I won’t have to worry as much! Thank you!” Tonks expressed her gratitude and appreciation as Harry hugged her back. What Harry wasn’t expecting was for Tonks to pull back slightly and kiss him full on the lips. It was soft and pretty chaste all things considered but to Harry it was amazing. When she pulled back he saw a look of sincere affection in her eyes that truly revealed how much she cared about him. Harry felt his face grow hot and knew he was blushing hard. Tonks’ sudden bout of giggles only further confirmed it.</p><p>“That was…um…really…really…” Harry started only for Tonks to finish for him.</p><p>“Amazing? Fantastic? Awesome? I know; I know I’m very impressive but feel free to keep praising me.” Tonks smiled as she released Harry from their hug. Harry grinned back as well before another knock came from the door. “Oh! I should totally show Penny what you made for me!” She cheered as she quickly opened the door and dragged the girl inside.</p><p>“Tonks what’s the hurry?” Penny asked confused by how energetic her friend seemed. Even more so than usual!</p><p>“Harry made me this really cool belt buckle talisman! It fixes my klutziness and makes it impossible for me to trip or fall over!” Tonks gushed as she directed Penny’s gaze to her new accessory. “Watch this!” Without a second of hesitation Tonks rushed over to an old wooden table in the back of the room and jumped on top of it. The table had just been shoved out of the way when Harry had first taken over the old Ancient Runes classroom and left in the back. Needless to say the old wooden table wasn’t exactly able to handle a seventeen year old girl suddenly jumping on top of it. The two legs on the side that Tonks had jumped on broke sending the table to the floor and Tonks along with it.</p><p>“Tonks are you ok?” Penny asked as she and Harry made their way over to the fallen Metamorph.</p><p>“I thought you said I couldn’t trip or fall?” Tonks questioned with a groan.</p><p>“I said almost impossible. It prevents trips and falls by assisting your balance. It doesn’t suddenly make you an acrobat or something.” Harry sighed with a shake of his head.</p><p>“Ugh, now he tells me.” Tonks grumbled as she slowly sat up. Penny couldn’t help it and broke out into a fit of giggles. Harry started chuckling soon after and Tonks pouted at both of her friends for a moment before bursting into her own laughter.</p><p>-Friday the 17<sup>th</sup> of April-</p><p>This had gone on long enough. Quirrel’s mana was still having its odd fluctuations and Harry was going to inform another Professor about his concerns. Shortly after classes he made his way to Professor Flitwick’s office to talk with his Head of House. After knocking on the door and being allowed entry Harry took the offered seat and laid out his concerns about the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor.</p><p>“I see, that is troubling, for a person’s Magic to be in flux for so long does seem abnormal.” Flitwick nodded as he mulled over the information Harry had presented him with. “I’ll inform the Headmaster and we’ll have Quirrel seen by either Poppy or take him to St. Mungos if necessary. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Mr. Potter, take ten points for Ravenclaw.”</p><p>“Thank you Professor.” Harry accepted and made his way out of the office. At least now the Quirrel situation was the staff’s problem to deal with. Easter Holidays marked the spring break for Hogwarts and Harry had gotten a letter from Sirius about visiting him at the castle. It seemed Sirius was recovered enough that some light exercise was being encouraged to help him get back up to physical shape. A Healer was coming along as an escort for Sirius along with Andromeda just to make sure Sirius didn’t over exert himself. Harry was looking forward to showing Sirius his hidden workshop and showing him his completed Rune Safe.</p><p>That evening at dinner Dumbledore stood to make an announcement and Harry had to wonder at the timing. It seemed odd that the very day he mentioned Quirrel’s condition, that Dumbledore would make an announcement. Especially when Quirrel was sitting at the end of the staff table as normal. What could the Headmaster possibly be announcing?</p><p>“Attention students! I have a small announcement to make before we start our dinner. As many of you know I have a few different roles I play in the Magical World. I’m afraid my role as Supreme Mugwump will require me to be away from the school for most of the Easter break. Deputy Headmistress McGonagall will be in charge while I am away and I expect you’ll all be on your best behavior. I will see you all upon your return from the break. Thank you for your attention.” Dumbledore announced before sitting down to eat. There were many murmurs throughout the Great Hall but Harry was only left more confused.</p><p>-Monday Morning ~ After Breakfast-</p><p>“Harry! Good to see you again! Your Dogfather has come for a visit!” Sirius waved exaggeratedly as Harry smiled seeing his Godfather up and walking about. At his right was Andromeda and to his left must have been the Healer, a pretty ravenette with grey eyes.</p><p>“Great to see you up and about Sirius, you haven’t been over doing it have you?” Harry asked as the three adults stopped in front of him.</p><p>“Of course not, I’d make Marlie here mad at me if I made her job any more difficult.” Sirius grinned as he gave the Healer a charming smile.</p><p>“You stop harassing the poor woman, you mutt.” Andromeda admonished as she swatted Sirius lightly with her purse.</p><p>“Ack! Marlie she’s assaulting me, I’m still a recovering patient, throw her out!” Sirius whined playfully making the Healer smile softly.</p><p>“I can’t throw her out of Hogwarts, Mr. Black, but I’ll ask her politely to not smack you.” Marlie replied before winking at Andromeda who only smiled back pleasantly.</p><p>“Aww, no one’s on my side are they?” Sirius grumbled getting a shake of the head from all three of them. “Not you too Harry!”</p><p>“Sorry, Sirius, but I think wooing anyone counts as over exerting yourself.” Harry responded with a grin getting a shocked look from Sirius. Andromeda and Marlie both burst into giggles at the quip and even Sirius playfully grumbled at him.</p><p>“You’ve been spending too much time around little Dora.” Sirius pouted as the group followed Harry through the castle. Sirius happily reminisced about his time at the castle and shared tales of the Marauder’s many pranks at various places. Harry laughed at the antics his father had gotten up to with Sirius and Remus back in their days as schoolboys.</p><p>“Why’d we come down this old corridor, Harry? Not much to see down here.” Sirius asked as Harry stood by the wall.</p><p>“Just watch.” Harry stated before opening a door that none of the adults had noticed was there.</p><p>“A secret door? I thought we found all of them back in the day.” Sirius mumbled as he, Andromeda and Marlie entered the room after Harry.</p><p>“Not quite, I just used a few trinkets to hide this room from others. This is my private, and also secret, workshop. I practice my spell casting and my Enchanting here when I’m done with my homework and such.” Harry explained getting all three pairs of eyes to widen.</p><p>“Harry, have I ever told you that you’re a very impressive eleven year old?” Sirius asked as he looked around the room seeing obvious spell fire marks on the far wall. The Marauders really should have thought of having their own hidden room like this back in the day.</p><p>“You might have mentioned it in one of your letters.” Harry chuckled as he showed the group some of the small trinkets and talismans he’d been fooling around with. It wasn’t until he’d led them into his smithy and showed them the Rune Safe that Andromeda spoke up again.</p><p>“Harry, you said that your Safe only opens for you and doesn’t need to be provided Magic by anyone to work, right?” Andromeda questioned getting a nod from Harry.</p><p>“Yes, it has quite a few security sequences within the array. Multiple protection sequences too. Fire, water, blunt force, cutting etc. basically anyway I could think of that someone might try and crack it. It also absorbs ambient mana from the surroundings to keep itself powered. Why do you ask?” Harry asked as the woman looked the iron safe over.</p><p>“Well, I’m no expert, but the way you described your safe makes it sound a lot like an Artifact; at least to me anyway.” Andromeda stated making Sirius nod slightly since he’d read up a bit on Enchanted Objects and Artifacts during his stay at St. Mungos. After all, if his godson liked them Sirius wanted to be able to get him gifts that fell in line with Harry’s interests.</p><p>“Hmm, I don’t think I could make an Artifact without knowing it.” Harry mused as he thought about the specifics of his Rune Safe. Seeing Harry lost in thought the adults waited for a moment only to hear a knock on the door.</p><p>“Harry, I think you have visitors.” Sirius called out.</p><p>“It’s Tonks and Penny, could you let them in real quick?” Harry requested as he went over to a bookshelf on the far end of the smithy and pulled a book down.</p><p>“Sirius?” Tonks called out alerting everyone that was in the workshop that Sirius had let Tonks and Penny inside. The four people returned to the smithy portion of the workshop, Marlie not leaving Sirius’ side as his Healer, only to see Harry staring at an open book unblinking while Andromeda rubbed his back.</p><p>“What happened?” Penny questioned as she and Tonks moved over to Harry.</p><p>“I just mentioned that his Rune Safe sounded a lot like an Artifact to me. After grabbing this book and going through it for a bit he just started staring at it. I was only going to suggest he might want to get an expert opinion on whether or not he’d made an actual Artifact.” Andromeda explained making Tonks and Penny widen their eyes at the implication.</p><p>“Harry? Are you with us?” Penny asked softly getting no response from the Wizard.</p><p>“Oi Harry! You in there?!” Tonks shouted at the still boy jolting him from his trance.</p><p>“Tonks? Penny?” Harry questioned looking between the two.</p><p>“We’re here, Harry, what’s going on?” Penny asked only for Harry to motion towards the book he had open.</p><p>“Could you both read that and give me your opinion. I’m still not sure, but I might need to have an expert come test my Safe.” Harry muttered to himself as Penny and Tonks read over the two pages of the book. The pages detailed all the various differences between Enchanted Objects and True Artifacts. Going through them all the both of them could tick off several key things that Artifacts had that Harry’s Rune Safe was also capable of.</p><p>“Harry, you may want to call for that expert.” Penny said softly as she finished reading and comparing. She wanted to be gentle about the situation after all.</p><p>“You’re a real dum-dum aren’t ya Harry?!” Tonks laughed loudly showing absolutely no compunction about being delicate with the situation.</p><p>“Aaaahhhhh!!!” Harry yelled out completely overwhelmed that he may have made a True Artifact and not even known it for months! Tonks’ laughter was soon joined by Sirius’ while Andromeda and Penny chided them both for laughing about the situation. Healer Marlie only smiled seeing her patient in such good cheer and obviously on the road to a full recovery. She didn’t know much about Artifacts or Artificers, but she was fairly certain that Harry would probably be the youngest ever if he’d already made one.</p><p>While this revelry was happening in the hidden workshop another pair was making plans of their own.</p><p>“He’ll be gone for the week, Master I can retrieve the Stone tonight.” Quirrel mumbled to seemingly empty air.</p><p>“Ssseee that you dooo.” Hissed a voice from nowhere.</p><p>“Yes Master.” Quirrel replied as he paced around his quarters.</p><p>In another part of the castle Dumbledore sat patiently after having already ‘left’ for the International Confederation of Wizards meeting he’d announced on Friday to the school.</p><p>“And so the trap is set, Tom. It is time we met face to face again.” Dumbledore murmured as he watched a device that was tied to the door on the third floor corridor. If only he could figure out how Tom had managed to survive that Halloween night, he could end this madness here and now and hopefully leave a brighter future behind for the next generation.</p><p>
  <strong>-End Chapter-</strong>
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  <strong>So that happened! Harry finds something odd about Quirrel. He has a new Pen Pal. Gives Tonks her birthday gift and gets sincere thanks from her. Did Harry actually create an Artifact without even knowing about it for months? Is he a dum-dum? Also Dumbledore has set the trap, what will be the outcome for Voldemort? Find out in the next chapters!</strong>
</p><p><strong> <span class="u">Current Mana Levels</span> </strong> <strong> (The time skips make these numbers outdated)</strong></p><p>
  <strong>Harry – 582</strong>
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  <strong>Tonks – 5002</strong>
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  <strong>Penelope – 3678</strong>
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  <strong>I’ve decide to have this little reminder for our main cast, Fleur will be added once she arrives properly. Hopefully this is a fun little way to let readers keep track.</strong>
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  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Meeting a Legend, Expert Panel</h2></a>
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    <p>
  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! What has become of Quirrel after springing Dumbledore’s trap? Will Harry get his Rune Safe examined?</strong>
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  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
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  <strong>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-</strong>
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  <strong>Chapter 9 – Meeting a Legend, Expert Panel</strong>
</p><p>It was the third day of the Easter break when Harry found himself standing in an out of the way room on the ground floor of Hogwarts. Standing with him was McGonagall, in her role as Deputy Headmistress, Flitwick, as his Head of House, as well as Tonks and Penny. The group had just been joined by no less than five people that had been guided to the room by Hagrid. The gentle giant had given Harry a smile and a nod of reassurance before he’d left and now introductions were about to start.</p><p>“Good day, Ladies and Gentleman, on behalf of all of us I’d like to welcome you to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.” McGonagall welcomed their five guests, two women and three men, who all gave their thanks at being welcomed.</p><p>“We’re pleased to be here, Deputy Headmistress.” The oldest member of the group of five replied. He was an ancient-looking man that could make Dumbledore seem youthful by comparison. “I’m Lorenzo Trevisan, currently Head of Italy’s Enchanter Guild; I’ve held the Title of Artificer for ninety four years and have three True Artifacts to my name.” The old wizard introduced himself. “I’ll let the others introduce themselves before we have the potential Artifact brought out and begin the examination.”</p><p>“Interesting to be walking the halls of such a long-standing institution.” The next person commented with a smile. She was an older woman that could possibly be just a bit older than McGonagall; it was hard to tell with Wizards and Witches, though she held a darker complexion than his Transfiguration Professor. “I’m Elena Diaz; I’ve held the Title of Artificer for thirty one years and have two True Artifacts to my name.”</p><p>“Glad to be here. Forgive me if my English is a bit rough, it’s my third language.” The next member of the group of five responded. He was dark-skinned, African most likely, and spoke with an accent. He was also one of the youngest, comparatively, of the group. “My name is Salim Bel, an Artificer for the Moroccan Ministry of Magic. I’ve held the Title of Artificer for eighteen years and have one True Artifact to my name.”</p><p>“Thank you for the welcome.” The largest man of the group of five nodded. He was tall and had wide shoulders with some muscle on him. Harry thought he possibly had a Russian accent. “I’m Artem Demina, I work as an Artificer for the Russian Ministry; I’ve held the Title of Artificer for forty one years and have two True Artifacts to my name.”</p><p>“Good day, I look forward to seeing what this young man has created.” The final member of the group of five smiled gently. She was Asian and quite pretty, possibly the youngest, though Salim may still actually be the youngest since Harry couldn’t tell. “My name is Tajiri Mio, or in the western form, Mio Tajiri. I’m a freelance Artificer in Japan that takes commissions for Enchanting. I also consult with the Japanese Ministry when they find strange Magical Items they can’t decipher; I’ve held the Title of Artificer for twenty one years and have two True Artifacts to my name.”</p><p>“Thank you all for coming on such short notice.” McGonagall thanked with a small nod. “I realize the Artificers of the Enchanter Guilds are often busy people and hope you haven’t been inconvenienced.”</p><p>“Not at all, anything that gets me away from the parchment work.” Lorenzo chuckled getting an agreeing nod from Elena and Artem. “Now, let’s see what the young man has made.”</p><p>With a nod from McGonagall and a reassuring smile from both Tonks and Penny, Harry walked over to the corner of the room and removed the cloth that McGonagall had conjured. With a slight application of his Magic the Rune Safe became Feather-Light for him and he carried it to the middle of the room. Harry stepped back a few steps as the five Artificers looked at the Safe from where they stood.</p><p>“Interesting, I’ve not seen an Artifact Safe before.” Salim commented as his eyes roved over the iron box.</p><p>“May we, Mr. Potter?” Lorenzo asked as he gestured towards the Rune Safe.</p><p>“Of course, Master Trevisan.” Harry nodded before he stepped forward quickly and pulled open the door. Seeing the looks from the Artificers Harry quickly explained. “The door will only open for me. It’s part of the Runic Array and can’t be changed or disabled.”</p><p>“Then it’s a good Safe regardless.” Artem chuckled as the five moved closer to inspect Harry’s creation. Harry stood back and tried to keep himself from fidgeting nervously. He’d already applied a metal disk with Ollivander’s self-destruction sequence etched into it over the Runic Array on the back wall of the Safe. He didn’t need to worry about any of them memorizing his Array, not that he actually thought they’d do it. These people were already Artificers and had probably made Artifacts that put his Safe to shame.</p><p>“Someone has been dabbling in Alchemic Enchanting already? My, my Mr. Potter you’re quite the young prodigy.” Elena commented with a grin towards Harry who only blushed slightly and gave a small ‘Thank you’.</p><p>“The Magic Circuits are applied very well, no breaks or malformations, the spacing isn’t bad either, a little off from what I’d do but still fully functional.” Mio praised making Harry duck his head to hide his red face.</p><p>“I’m curious, Mr. Potter, did you forge the Safe yourself?” Artem asked and Harry looked up at the Russian man before nodding. “Good, good it’s the best way to make sure your material is to your own specifications. Plus swinging the hammer will put some muscle on you, so it’s good for a young man’s health.” Harry nodded at the older man’s words and breathed deeply to try and calm himself. So far everything seemed to be going well with the initial examination.</p><p>“Care to tell us the functions of your Array, Mr. Potter? I find myself very curious after seeing such nice work having been done on this creation.” Salim asked kindly and Harry swore he saw Lorenzo’s old eyes light up with interest. So Harry started going over the numerous security features and protections he’d worked into his Runic Array. The five Artificers nodded along with his explanation while continuing to look over the Safe.</p><p>“Hmm, yes, very well thought out Mr. Potter, very well thought out indeed.” Lorenzo nodded at the end of Harry’s explanation. “Now to test these protections we’ll perform a few simple tests. If your Item is still intact and fully functional at the end of all of them it will be recognized as a True Artifact.”</p><p>“I’m sorry to interrupt, but what are the exact differences between Enchanted Objects and True Artifacts?” McGonagall asked curiously as she’d never particularly studied this Branch of Magic. The fact that she’d had to arrange for this meeting and examination without knowing its full significance had been bothering her quite a bit if only in the back of her mind.</p><p>“Ah, a good question, Deputy Headmistress, not many people know the exact differences without studying in-depth about the subject.” Lorenzo nodded before explaining. “The simplest way to explain the difference between the two is that a True Artifact is near indestructible and self-maintaining, it will fulfill its function so long as it exists. An Enchanted Object requires outside magic from the user to exhibit its effect and will eventually break down or be broken during the course of its use like any other tool.”</p><p>“I see, Enchanted Objects wear down while True Artifacts do not. Likewise an Enchanted Object can be destroyed where as a True Artifact takes some kind of special process to destroy, if I understand correctly.” McGonagall replied getting a nod from the Artificers.</p><p>“Artifacts can also be bound to a person or their bloodline as well.” Elena informed. “These Artifacts won’t work for anyone but the person or a member of the bloodline they’re bound to. It’s a shame that some ancient Artifacts will never be able to be used again because of this.”</p><p>“Quite, I would have enjoyed seeing some of them in action.” Lorenzo sighed before shaking his head and returning to the topic at hand. “Now let’s begin with the physical tests.”</p><p>“I’ll administer the first one.” Salim offered and stepped forward. “I’ll do the same test my own teacher used when I was learning under him.” With that the man picked up Harry’s Safe and heaved it into the nearby wall with all of his strength. The loud bang and crash the Rune Safe made as it struck the wall and then fell to the floor had a few people covering their ears.</p><p>“Now let’s see how it did.” Salim grinned as he went and brought the safe back over to the other Artificers.</p><p>“No damage here.” Mio stated with a shake of her head a few minutes later. All the other Artificers nodded in agreement.</p><p>“Was that really necessary?” Flitwick asked as he rubbed his ears.</p><p>“You’d be surprised how many Enchanters forget to protect their creations from physical damage.” Artem spoke up, the large man shaking his head from the memories. “It can resist every spell in the world but if I can throw it on the ground or into the wall and break it, then it isn’t an Artifact.”</p><p>“Now let’s see how it reacts to various spells.” Elena smiled as she pulled out her wand along with the other Artificers. For the next several minutes Harry had to watch as his Rune Safe was blasted with spell after spell. The Safe was doused in flames, submerged in a levitating ball of water, smashed with bludgeoning spells, and explosions rocked the Safe three different times. Through it all Harry could only hope that it would still be in the same shape that it was when he’d brought it down from his hidden workshop.</p><p>“Well, I dare say this Safe is hard to damage.” Lorenzo commented once the barrage of spells ended. “Can’t seem to even make it hot or cold, and it doesn’t even move when hit with blasting curses.”</p><p>“I’d say it’s doing exactly what Mr. Potter said it would do.” Salim nodded towards Harry. “It’s actually absorbing large amounts of Magic from every spell we throw at it and the Runic Array only gets stronger each time.”</p><p>“Well, there is one more test we could perform to make absolutely sure, but…” Mio trailed off only for Artem to roll his eyes and point his wand at the Rune Safe. With a look of concentration incredibly hot flames leaped from the tip of the Russian man’s wand and engulfed the Safe. The heat in the room jumped several degrees in short order and everyone else backed away from the Magical Flames. Harry’s heart was in his throat as he watched his work be consumed by the conflagration.</p><p>“Are you insane?!” McGonagall and Flitwick yelled at the Artificer in unison. “Why on Earth would you summon Fiendfyre in an enclosed space?! Even worse that we’re inside a school with children in it!”</p><p>“If it can survive Fiendfyre after everything else we’ve put it through then it’s a True Artifact. If not then it’ll be molten metal on the ground when I dispel the flames.” Artem replied with a shrug as the group of Artificers looked on.</p><p>“We still could have taken it outside first.” Mio sighed while pinching the bridge of her nose.</p><p>“That doesn’t seem to be necessary.” Lorenzo commented and everyone in the room watched as the Fiendfyre that surrounded the Rune Safe slowly but surely shrank until not even embers remained of it.</p><p>“It can absorb the magic from the Fiendfyre spell? That cursed fire burns Magic to fuel itself but it lost the Magic that was powering it before it could burn Mr. Potter’s Safe.” Elena commented as the Artificers moved over to the Safe to inspect it. After a few minutes of inspection all five Artificers conversed with each other for a full minute before nodding to each other.</p><p>Well, this has been an exciting day, to say the least.” Lorenzo commented as the panel of Artificers stood in front of Harry. “Allow me to be the first to address you with the proper Title, Artificer Potter. Your Rune Safe is a True Artifact.”</p><p>“Thank you.” Harry numbly replied his mind not quite comprehending that he’d succeeded.</p><p>“As for the Grade of Artifact we’ve concluded it to be a Minor Artifact based on its limitations of use. Though it fulfills its purpose splendidly, it will be completely un-useable once you pass on in the far future.” Lorenzo explained and Harry could only nod still not fully there as his mind worked to process reality.</p><p>“Artifacts have Grades?” Tonks questioned confused never having looked into the subject enough to learn such a thing.</p><p>“Oh yes, True Artifacts are divided into five Grades depending on their Function, Effect, Durability, and Power.” Lorenzo grinned always happy to teach the curious. “The Grades go in order from lowest to highest as Minor, Median, Greater, High, and Legendary. There are far less High Artifacts and Legendary Artifacts as you can well imagine. Most Artificers’ Magnum Opus is a Greater Artifact within their lifetime.”</p><p>“If Harry’s Rune Safe is a Minor Artifact what could a High Artifact do, or a Legendary Artifact for that matter?” Penny asked curiously.</p><p>“A High Artifact could potentially, depending on its Effect and Power, make the one who wields it untouchable by both physical and Magical means. They’d be a force unto themselves and could potentially become a worse threat than any Dark Lord in history. Then again, if the Artifact had a benevolent purpose it could be the most powerful Healing Instrument in existence capable of curing every sickness, disease, or injury it was used on.” Elena answered.</p><p>“It is thought that the destruction of the Magical City of Atlantis was caused by the misuse of a Legendary Artifact. From what little history remains Atlantis would have been just as big as any modern day metropolis and it disappeared completely without anyone being able to leave and tell others what had happened. That implies that the entire city was destroyed near instantaneously at least.” Salim spoke up and all the eyes of the Hogwarts staff and students widened in shock.</p><p>“I’m almost sorry I asked.” Penny mumbled.</p><p>Shortly afterwards the group of five Artificers were leaving Hogwarts. Harry had been given a certificate, signed by all five of the Artificers that had examined his Rune Safe; that stated he was officially recognized as an Artificer. Lorenzo had promised to stop by the Ministry of Magic in London to file the copy of Harry’s certification personally. All five had given Harry their congratulations and had told him they looked forward to seeing what he’d create in the future. It was official now; Harry James Potter was the youngest Artificer in history.</p><p>“I’m an Artificer…I’m an Artificer…” Harry kept mumbling to himself while holding his certificate.</p><p>“That you are Harrikins!” Tonks exclaimed as she pulled the stunned First Year into a hug. Penny approached to give Harry her own congratulations and suddenly found him in her arms as Tonks pushed them together. “Hugs Penny! Harry needs hugs!” Penny sighed playfully at her friend before pulling Harry into a warm hug and congratulating him.</p><p>“What do I do now?” Harry asked a few minutes later after being released from the hug-fest that Tonks had initiated.</p><p>“The same thing you’ve been doing, Harrikins.” Tonks smiled at him. “Being a nerd that makes neat things!”</p><p>“Tonks, you could have put that better.” Penny giggled while Tonks laughed and Harry huffed.</p><p>“I know what I said!” Tonks proclaimed before pulling Harry back into her arms.</p><p>-Two Days Later-</p><p>“Has anyone seen Professor Quirrel in the last day or two?” Penny asked while the three friends were eating breakfast.</p><p>“Nope, though I haven’t been looking either.” Tonks replied as she ate.</p><p>“I haven’t seen him either.” Harry responded. “Do you think the staff had him sent to St. Mungos for his fluctuating mana?”</p><p>“Possibly, this would be the best time to do it with the break and all.” Penny mused as she sipped her juice. A great flapping of wings alerted all in the Great Hall to the arrival of the mail and the trio looked up to see if anything was coming for them. Harry was hoping for a reply to his last letter to Fleur. When the Daily Prophet landed in front of him Harry could already see the headline and he groaned as he reached for the paper.</p><p>-Daily Prophet Article-</p><p>Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived, Becomes Youngest Artificer in History!</p><p>It has come to the attention of this reporter that Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, has been certified as an Artificer as of two days ago! This remarkable feat makes him the youngest person to ever earn the Title in history!</p><p>Many already know of Harry Potter’s history and his more recent creation of a system to measure Magic and Magical Strength. His Scouters and Test Frames sell out almost immediately whenever they’re on the market. It is safe to say that Mr. Potter, or Artificer Potter to use his proper Title, has made waves ever since he reappeared in the Magical World.</p><p>According to sources in the Ministry, Harry Potter created a Minor Artifact to achieve his certification and it was simply listed as a ‘Rune Safe’. Why did the young Artificer create an Artifact Safe? We at the Daily Prophet have yet to get in touch with Mr. Potter for an interview but it does make one wonder. Does Mr. Potter think he needs to protect something personally? Does he have a creation that he doesn’t want anyone seeing yet? Perhaps a future product that isn’t yet ready for the world to see?</p><p>Many mysteries and questions surround Mr. Potter and have ever since Halloween of Eighty One; but this reporter will bring you answers whenever she’s able to get them. I’ll be personally trying to get into contact with the young Artificer to set up an exclusive interview so that our readers can have their curiosity sated!</p><p>Rita Skeeter, Reporter, Daily Prophet</p><p>For more information on Artificers turn to Page Four.</p><p>For more information on Artifacts turn to Page Five.</p><p>To see a copy of Harry Potter’s certification look below.</p><p>-End Article-</p><p>Below the article on the bottom of the front page was a copy of the certification Harry had received. It was properly filed and even had a stamp from the Ministry as authentic. Harry had to wonder how this reporter had gotten a picture of it so quickly. Not to mention the speculations she’d brought up about him and his Rune Safe. He was fairly sure he and this woman may not get along in the future.</p><p>“Typical Skeeter.” Tonks scoffed as she read over Harry’s shoulder.</p><p>“They should really update the Integrity Standards at the Prophet.” Penny chimed in while grimacing at the article.</p><p>“Hmm, I doubt it’ll happen, the Prophet will be paying through the nose if they want to interview me.” Harry huffed as he folded up the Prophet, he’d read the rest of it later. “So you two want to work on some more Wandless practice today?”</p><p>“Sure, I’m caught up on my studying for NEWTs. You in Penny?” Tonks asked the blonde Prefect.</p><p>“Of course, but I’ll have to call it a day after dinner, I still have a few things I want to go over before bed.” Penny replied.</p><p>The trio spent the remainder of the break studying and practicing. Harry found time to make another forty Test Frames and was quick to let the Owl Order Service know they were available for sale. Harry collected his Galleons from the literal flock of owls on Friday, he was thankful that they had the training to wait until after breakfast before they all flew into the Great Hall. Watching forty different owls fly away each carrying a package as large as they were was amusing to Harry. But it did put into perspective how much Magic affected the birds, they could carry heavier loads, fly faster and further, it was simply impressive when they were viewed next to their non-magical kin.</p><p>It was the last day of the Easter Break when Harry saw an unfamiliar man inside Hogwarts. He didn’t look much older than sixty, but with Wizards he could be around ninety and look the same. The man was making his way towards the Great Hall and Harry’s curiosity wouldn’t let him leave this mystery alone. So with a quick check to make sure he was presentable he walked up to the man at a brisk pace.</p><p>“Sir, are you visiting someone?” Harry asked the old man. The man in question stopped and turned to look at Harry. He was wearing rather plain robes in dark blue, had mostly white hair on his head, and his face had several wrinkles. But his blue eyes gave a hint of power that Harry could almost feel. The mirth in the blue orbs not detracting from the intensity they held. After looking at each other for a moment the old man smiled and introduced himself.</p><p>“I was indeed meeting someone, young man, an old student and research associate of mine.” The old man stated and Harry cocked his head slightly at the information. “Ah but where are my manners? My name is Nicholas, my young friend.”</p><p>“Oh, sorry, I’m Harry Potter, sir.” Harry introduced himself and noticed the man’s eyes twinkle, kind of like Professor Dumbledore’s to be honest.</p><p>“Yes, I was fairly sure you were Mr. Potter, but it’s proper for people to introduce themselves, isn’t it?” Nicholas chuckled.</p><p>“Right, most people in Magical Britain know what I look like, don’t they?” Harry asked rhetorically with a lopsided grin.</p><p>“I’m sure.” Nicholas chuckled before looking around. “Say you don’t think anyone would mind if we sat down while we chatted do you?”</p><p>“I doubt it, but where exactly? The Great Hall is just at the other end of this corridor.” Harry mused while Nicholas grinned and knocked on a door that they were standing close to.</p><p>“Why not one of the sitting rooms for visitors? I understand they aren’t used as much now days but they’re still furnished.” Nicholas grinned as the door opened and Harry saw a comfy sitting room with several large chairs and its own fireplace.</p><p>“I didn’t even know Hogwarts had visitor’s sitting rooms.” Harry intoned while Nicholas chuckled.</p><p>“Yes, my old student likes to receive guests in the Headmaster’s Office, so these rooms don’t see many guests anymore.” Nicholas explained as he walked into the room and sat on one of the plush chairs.</p><p>“Wait, your former student was Dumbledore?” Harry asked incredulously as he walked into the room and sat in a chair near Nicholas. “But that would mean…named Nicholas…taught Dumbledore…you’re Nicholas Flamel!”</p><p>“Indeed.” Nicholas smiled as he watched the young man try to calm down.</p><p>“You’re a Legend sir! Even Muggles know the story of you creating the Philosopher’s Stone! The only Alchemist to reach the pinnacle of the Alchemic Arts! The man that successfully created the zenith of an entire Branch of Magic!” Harry was freaking out a bit and he knew it, but he couldn’t help it! Sitting in front of him was a Living Legend whose accomplishments had seen his name carved into history on both sides, Magical and Muggle alike!</p><p>“Pleasure to hear you’ve done at least a little bit of reading about Magical History.” Nicholas grinned and Harry forced himself to calm down.</p><p>“Sorry, I freaked out a little bit.” Harry apologized but Nicholas just waved it away.</p><p>“No need to worry Mr. Potter it happens, trust me, it happens…” Nicholas sighed with a shake of his head. He’d met people that had ‘freaked out’ far worse than what Harry had just done. “I was just here to speak to Dumbledore and retrieve something. Plus reveal to my former student that he’d once again been pranked.”</p><p>“Pranked?” Harry questioned confused.</p><p>“Oh yes, I’m a bit of a prankster, just ask my wife!” Nicholas sniggered. “Dumbledore asked to borrow my Philosopher’s Stone to see if a theory of his was correct. But he didn’t notice that what I gave him wasn’t the Philosopher’s Stone! Not even after he’d had it for months!”</p><p>“Huh?” Harry was still very confused.</p><p>“I gave him this and told him it was the Stone.” Nicholas chuckled as he pulled a dark red gem-like rock from inside of his robes and showed it to the First Year. Harry just stared at the fist-sized stone; he could feel the Magic it gave off. If Nicholas hadn’t already told him this wasn’t a Philosopher’s Stone he’d believe it was if somebody else told him so.</p><p>“What…what is it?” Harry asked as he looked away from the rock.</p><p>“This is called a Rubedo Stone; it’s just a few steps away from becoming a Philosopher’s Stone. While it’s very powerful Magically and a great boost to Transmutation it is also remarkably unstable. Just a small disruption in the Magic flowing into it and…” Nicholas trailed off as the Rubedo Stone sparked with red electric sparks and dispersed into reddish smoke that drifted towards the ceiling. “It’s destroyed.” He finished with a grin.</p><p>“Did you just use Wandless Magic?” Harry questioned since he hadn’t seen a wand or some other kind of Magical Focus.</p><p>“You pick up a few things after living as long as I have, young man.” Nicholas nodded.</p><p>“Sir, if it isn’t too much trouble, could I measure your mana?” Harry asked as he pulled out his Scouter. “I just need to look at you with this trinket is all; I just can’t pass up an opportunity to scan the oldest living Wizard. I’m so curious about what age does to mana growth…” He would have continued but Nicholas’ laughter cut him off.</p><p>“Yes, I’m quite aware of what your Items can do. They’ve been all the rage lately. Feel free to scan away, Mr. Potter.” Nicholas consented and Harry quickly placed his Scouter up to his eye after a hasty ‘Thank you’ to the old wizard. The number on the lens started to rise quickly. It shot past the double and triple digits so fast Harry barely had time to register it. When it cleared the four digit numbers and started on the ten thousands Harry was curious to where it might actually stop. When it didn’t stop shortly after breaking into six digit territory Harry felt his hand start to shake. Almost a full thirty seconds past before the Scouter finally stopped counting and the number on the lens made Harry forget to breathe for a few seconds.</p><p>“H-how…when…” Harry tried to speak as he continued looking at the number in shock.</p><p>“So how’d I do?” Nicholas chuckled at Harry’s flabbergasted face.</p><p>“You…you’re…you’re at…” Harry stuttered out as Nicholas just continued to smile pleasantly.</p><p>-Later-</p><p>Harry was still shaken from his brief meeting with Nicholas Flamel. He retreated to his hidden workshop and just sat at his worktable staring blankly at nothing. He had no idea how long he’d sat there but a knock on the door broke him from his stupor. Going over and letting Penny and Tonks inside Harry knew they noticed his state by the looks on their faces.</p><p>“Harry, what’s wrong? You look like you just got told the world is ending.” Penny asked trying to comfort her friend.</p><p>“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this before, Harry, what’s wrong?” Tonks asked genuinely worried about her friend/potential-future-boyfriend.</p><p>“We’re not even close.” Harry mumbled out. “We don’t even register on the same level.”</p><p>“What’re you talking about Harry?” Penny asked confused.</p><p>“Let me scan you both again, then you’ll understand.” Harry replied and both teens shrugged and let him take his readings. “Penny you’ve gone up to ‘4280’. Tonks you’ve gone up to ‘5624’.” He informed putting pleased smiles on both girls’ faces. He quickly grabbed a Test Frame off his work table and measured himself. “I’ve gone up to ‘936’.”</p><p>“That’s good right? We’ve all gotten a bit stronger.” Tonks wondered as Harry shook his head.</p><p>“It’s little to nothing…” Harry trailed off. “We don’t even compare…”</p><p>“Harry, can you explain what’s made you like this?” Penny asked as she pulled Harry into a chair and sat next to him. Tonks quickly sat on his other side and listened. With a resigned sigh Harry explained his meeting with Nicholas Flamel. Only after he got to the part where he’d measured Nicholas’ mana did the two understand and their faces became portraits of shock.</p><p>“See? You can’t blame me…” Harry sighed as he closed his eyes. But even in the darkness behind his eyelids he could still see the number on the lens of his Scouter. The absurdity of the reading and Nicholas’ pleasant smile creating a contrast so vivid he was sure it would be imprinted into his mind forever.</p><p>
  <em>“You…you’re…you’re at…at ‘1098632’.” Harry recalled stuttering out as Nicholas continued to smile pleasantly.</em>
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  <em>“I did get heavily into Dueling for several decades…maybe that has something to do with it?” Nicholas queried only for Harry to be unable to respond.</em>
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  <strong>-End Chapter-</strong>
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  <strong>Well…shit. There’s a world view changer. What do you say to something like that? The man has had over six centuries of course, though that wouldn’t really register as much when seeing it for the first time, right? But on the bright side Harry is now a recognized Artificer! At eleven years old that’s pretty impressive! Skeeter is still Skeeter, of course. How will Harry deal with this revelation? What will he make next? Will he have professionals coming to him seeking his expertise? Find out in the next chapters!</strong>
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  <strong> <span class="u">Current Mana Levels</span> </strong>
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  <strong>Harry – 936</strong>
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  <strong>Tonks – 5624</strong>
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  <strong>Penelope – 4280</strong>
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  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. First Year End, Summer Projects</h2></a>
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  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Now that Harry’s a certified Artificer what’s his next project? How does spending the summer with Sirius go? How are Penny and Tonks going to spend their summers, aside from spending time with Harry?</strong>
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  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
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  <strong>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-</strong>
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  <strong>Chapter 10 – First Year End, Summer Projects</strong>
</p><p>It was the first morning of classes after the break and everyone was in the Great Hall for breakfast. Harry, Tonks, and Penny were enjoying some like conversation and both girls were talking about the upcoming O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s that would start in May. Both felt confident that their studying was preparing them well and that their Wandless skills would gain them extra points on their practical tests. Harry had no worries about his end of year exams. He knew the material and his practical skills were undoubtedly the highest in his year.</p><p>“Students, I have an announcement before we start another day of classes.” Dumbledore called out to the Great Hall. Everyone quickly quieted and turned to the Headmaster to listen. “It came to our attention over the break that our Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor was not feeling well. Professor Quirrel has unfortunately had to leave his position early and seek treatment. I’m unaware of what treatment he made need, but I feel he’ll make a full recovery with time.”</p><p>“Well, looks like you were right, Harrikins.” Tonks whispered and Harry could only shrug.</p><p>“Fortunately as we only have a short time until the end of the school year I’ve been able to make time in my duties to take up your instruction. I hope you’ll all be alright with learning from an old man such as myself.” Dumbledore joked getting smatterings of chuckles and even several excited gasps from multiple students. It wasn’t every day that anyone got direct teaching from Dumbledore any more. The man had been Headmaster since before even the Seventh Years had been born after all. A loud, but polite, applause filled the Great Hall for a minute as Dumbledore directed his twinkling gaze over the students before sitting down and resuming what was left of breakfast.</p><p>“Well, maybe DADA won’t be completely useless for the remainder of the term?” Harry mused getting Tonks to crack up while Penny smiled.</p><p>“I am looking forward to what the Headmaster can teach though.” Penny admitted with an interested look. “He’s well-travelled, and has worked with multiple leaders of several Magical Fields. I’m sure his DADA lessons will be very interesting and informative.”</p><p>“True enough; might even be able to pick up an extra spell or two to impress the N.E.W.T. Examiners and the Auror Recruiters.” Tonks grinned before looking at Penny. “You totally just had a nerd moment!”</p><p>“Hush you!” Penny admonished as she swatted Tonks on the arm.</p><p>“Harry, help! Penny is being mean to me!” Tonks wailed overly dramatic.</p><p>“You earned it.” Harry smiled back making Penny smirk while Tonks stared at him with the most overdone look of betrayal.</p><p>“Traitor!” Tonks called and wandlessly threw a bit of porridge at him. Harry focused on the glob and it stopped in mid-air.</p><p>“No food fights, Tonks.” Harry chided as he returned the glob to Tonks’ bowl.</p><p>“They’re against the rules.” Penny glared as Tonks pouted at both of them.</p><p>“You’re no fun!” Tonks claimed as she playfully stuck out her tongue. Both Harry and Penny fondly sighed at their Metamorph friend.</p><p>-End of Year Exams-</p><p>Harry sighed; finally he was finished with all the paper tests! He was confident that he’d done well and now he was actually looking forward to getting the practical exams done too. Penny and Tonks were both still cooped up for their Exams. As both the O.W.L.s and the N.E.W.T.s were the biggest exams for students during their schooling, many more precautions were taken to ensure no cheating could take place. Harry figured he could just wait for his name to be called and retreated partially into his thoughts to try and work out ideas for new projects. He still wanted to try and work out an Artifact Sword for himself. He’d start with basic enchantments on a self-forged blade, Durability, Ever-Sharp, and the like; before moving on to more complex enchantments. With any luck he’d be able to create something truly unique. He’d aim for at least a Median Grade Artifact for his future sword. But if a Greater Grade was achievable when he was designing the Runic Array, why not try and reach it?</p><p>“Mr. Potter! Please enter the testing room.” Flitwick called out. Harry pulled himself out of his thoughts and stood up. Heading into the Charms classroom for his practical exam he smiled at his Head of House.</p><p>“Good morning Professor.” Harry greeted politely.</p><p>“Good morning Mr. Potter. Are you ready for your practical?” Flitwick asked though the look in the Charms Professor’s eyes said that he was already certain of it.</p><p>“I think I’ve learned well, sir.” Harry replied as he stood behind the long table that had been set up in the room. Various items were laid out on the table and Flitwick motioned to a set of feathers on the closest end.</p><p>“First the Levitation Charm. Levitate one of the feathers and have it circle the room, Mr. Potter.” Flitwick instructed a clipboard in his hands.</p><p>“Yes sir.” Harry nodded before all three feathers floated up from the table. Flitwick looked on wide-eyed as the three feathers made a circle around the room before gently settling back on the desk.</p><p>“Bravo, Mr. Potter, bravo! Wandless and Silent and you’re only a First Year! I dare say even your mother wasn’t so gifted!” Flitwick praised as he made a mark on his clipboard.</p><p>“Thank you for the praise, Professor.” Harry smiled as he was compared to his mother. It was a great compliment in his eyes.</p><p>“Moving on, there are three sheets of parchment on the table next to you. Change each of them into a different color.” Flitwick instructed and Harry did so with nary a thought. He changed each of them into the House Colors of Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor.</p><p>“Done, sir.” Harry stated and Flitwick clapped politely as he marked the results. So it went that Harry demonstrated the various Charms they’d worked on over the school year. Each time he managed it both Silent and Wandless bringing a brighter smile to Flitwick’s face.</p><p>“Alright, Mr. Potter, not that you need it but you’re now given the opportunity to display any Charm you’ve learned outside of class for extra credit.” Flitwick motioned to the empty space in front of the long table. Harry thought for a moment about which spell to demonstrate and smiled as he decided to go flashy.</p><p>‘Might as well, right? What was it Sirius said in his letter that one time? Go big or go home, wasn’t it?’ Harry mused before he stood before Flitwick and raised his hand into the air above his head. With palm facing the high ceiling a small flame appeared in Harry’s hand before it became a large conflagration as Harry fed more mana into the spell. The flames became a stream that towered into the air just short of hitting the ceiling. Flitwick stared in amazement at what a First Year was doing. This went beyond what any Incendio Charm could do!</p><p>“Excellent, Mr. Potter, simply excellent!” Flitwick praised as Harry ended his spell. “Make sure you’re very careful with that spell though! I don’t want to hear you’ve accidentally set something ablaze during your years here.”</p><p>“Of course, Professor.” Harry nodded and Flitwick dismissed him to his next practical.</p><p>Harry made good showings in all his practical exams. McGonagall had been especially impressed by his ability to wandlessly transfigure a small stone into various shapes. Turning the rock into a cube, a sphere, a pyramid, and a flat disc had seen him getting extra marks for Transfiguration. Now Harry had to take his final practical exam, Defense Against the Dark Arts with Dumbledore.</p><p>“Good afternoon, Mr. Potter, I trust you’re well?” Dumbledore asked as Harry made his way into the room.</p><p>“As well as can be, Professor.” Harry replied as he waited for Dumbledore’s instructions.</p><p>“Good to hear, we’ll be going through the spells you’ve learned over the year. Simply demonstrate them to the best of your ability and we’ll be done shortly. No need to be nervous.” Dumbledore reassured. “Are you ready?”</p><p>“Yes, Professor, I’m ready.” Harry nodded and Dumbledore asked for the first spell.</p><p>“Show me the Flipendo Jinx, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore prompted while motioning towards a target against the wall. Harry simply pointed at it with his finger and cast the spell. His jinx smacked almost dead center against the target and Dumbledore looked mildly impressed before making a mark on his clipboard. At the end Dumbledore offered a chance for extra credit, just as the rest of the Professors had done, and Harry nodded.</p><p>‘I finally have some real results for this spell, so I might as well get some extra credit for it!’ Harry thought with a grin as he conjured lightning around his arm. With a jab of his index and middle finger towards the target a bolt of lightning leapt from the extended fingers and struck just off center of the bull’s eye. ‘Letting the lighting travel down my arm and out the tips of my fingers makes it infinitely easier to aim compared to the whole palm.’ Harry smiled at the results of all of his practice with the Fulmen Curse.</p><p>“My word, I never thought I’d see a First Year capable of casting the Fulmen Curse.” Dumbledore stared at Harry for a long moment before writing on his clipboard. “That you managed it Silent and Wandless as well is outright unheard of for a Wizard your age. I must say you’re quite the young man, Mr. Potter. Though I don’t believe that I need to caution you on the use of that spell? Never use it on another person unless it is absolutely unavoidable to defend your life. That curse is not something that one can cast ‘accidentally’ or ‘on reflex’, though some have tried to get out of criminal charges by stating such in the past.” The old wizard sighed.</p><p>“Of course, Professor, I learned it for just those types of situations. I’d rather avoid them altogether if possible though.” Harry stated and Dumbledore nodded to the young student. ‘No way am I telling him I learned it just because I wanted to throw lightning around along with fire.’ He thought to himself with a groan, he’d never live that down if Tonks ever found out.</p><p>-End of the Year-</p><p>Tonks and Penny had been feeling rather confident in their performance of their exams. Tonks went one and on about the startled looks on the Wizarding Examination Authority proctor’s faces when she’d started performing spell both Silent and Wandless. The Metamorph was sure she’d aced the practical exams without a problem. Penny had been very confident in both her written and practical exams. Though even she couldn’t help but comment on her own shocking of the proctors from the Ministry during her practical exams. Apparently they’d never seen a Fifth Year capable of so much Wandless Magic.</p><p>“So who won the House Cup this year?” Tonks asked as she looked towards the hourglasses at the front of the Great Hall.</p><p>“I think it’s between Slytherin and Ravenclaw this year.” Penny commented as she waited for dinner to start along with everyone else.</p><p>“I don’t really care; I’ve got more things to worry about than the House Cup.” Harry shrugged nonchalantly though both of his friends could see him glancing at the hourglasses every so often. They’d both laugh at him shortly after when it was revealed that Ravenclaw had won the House Cup by all of twelve House Points.</p><p>“Doesn’t care he says.” Tonks guffawed while Penny hugged Harry in celebration of their House winning.</p><p>-The Next Afternoon ~ King’s Cross Station-</p><p>“I’ll be sure to come visit when I can.” Penny smiled to Harry and Tonks as they stood on the platform with their families. Sirius was standing with Ted and Andromeda to take Harry to his new home with his godfather.</p><p>“You better, we’ve got to talk about ‘our’ future!” Tonks winked at Penny who, to her credit, didn’t get more than a dusting of pink on her cheeks.</p><p>“Can you not?” Harry asked of his friend only for Tonks to shake her head while laughing. “You’re impossible.” Harry shook his head.</p><p>“Oh don’t pout, Harrikins, you know you love us!” Tonks grinned as she hugged Harry to her side. Penny giggled as Harry just let Tonks hug him. The boy had learned to just let Tonks have her hugs over the school year.</p><p>“I’m not pouting.” Harry deadpanned as Penny moved over to hug him too.</p><p>“But you are blushing!” Penny whispered with a giggle and Tonks chuckled at the red that appeared on Harry’s cheeks from the group hug.</p><p>“Alright Casanova, time to go!” Sirius laughed making Harry struggle out of the girls’ grip to swat at his godfather. The parents couldn’t help but smile at the interaction before both groups went their separate ways. Harry, Tonks, Andromeda, Sirius, and Ted took the Floo to the small Black property that Sirius and he would be living in. It was a nice stone and wood cottage-style house in a place called Wood End just southwest of Bedford. Magically hidden, of course, and near a good-sized forest, Harry had no problems with his new home.</p><p>“This is great!” Harry exclaimed as he was shown around by Sirius and was surprised when they got to his bedroom on the second floor. It had all of his things from the Dursleys already in it. “You got all of my stuff?” He questioned and Sirius nodded.</p><p>“Sure did, also found out that your Aunt and Uncle are expecting another child.” Sirius responded and Harry was surprised, he didn’t know Petunia and Vernon wanted anymore children. “Seemed right happy about it too.”</p><p>“Huh, I’ll have to write them and thank them for taking care of me until now. Plus offer my congratulations. Didn’t think they wanted more children. Though I’d bet Aunt Petunia is hoping for a daughter this time.” Harry mused as the group settled into the sitting room for tea.</p><p>“So Artificer Potter, what’re your plans for the summer?” Ted asked with a grin using Harry’s new Title for emphasis. Harry looked away sheepishly for a moment before getting himself together.</p><p>“Making more Test Frames, possibly a few more Scouters if I can get a smithy set up here, I also have some ideas for a few projects.” Harry replied and Sirius suddenly had a smile so wide Harry thought it would hurt his face if he kept I up too long. “What’s with the grin?”</p><p>“I’ve already contracted a Magical Stonemason to build you a full smithy out back!” Sirius burst out happily and laughed at Harry’s shocked face. “Consider it a makeup gift for ten years of missed birthdays and Christmases!”</p><p>“Sirius that must’ve cost so much!” Harry exclaimed and Sirius waved him off.</p><p>“I’ve got the entirety of the Black Vaults under my control now. I’ve more gold than I know what to do with, so if I want to spend it on my godson I will!” Sirius explained and Harry couldn’t stop himself from hugging his godfather.</p><p>“Thank you, Sirius!” Harry thanked his godfather happily.</p><p>“No problem, Harry, it’s worth every Knut.” Sirius assured him as he patted the boy’s back. “The Stonemason will be here the day after tomorrow to get some measurements and start prepping the land for building. After that is done it shouldn’t take more than a week or so to be ready for you.”</p><p>“This is great! I can do everything I planned this summer!” Harry smiled and Tonks couldn’t resist moving over to sit beside him so she could hug him. Harry was so happy he hugged the Metamorph back immediately with his smile still plastered on his face. About an hour later Ted and Andromeda started working on dinner for everyone. When Sirius tried to help he’d been all but tossed out of the kitchen by Andromeda. Apparently Sirius wasn’t much of a cook and Andromeda wouldn’t risk their first ‘Family Dinner’ together on Sirius’ cooking skills. The man had grumbled about ‘overly controlling cousins’ before walking outside with Harry to show him where the smithy would be built.</p><p>The dinner was lovely and the Tonks’ family had left just after ten for their home. Harry had enjoyed a shower and some light reading before bed that evening. Unknown to the boy Sirius had checked in on him after eleven and tucked him in with a smile. The man was determined to make a happy home for his godson and that meant laughter and smiles in his opinion. Harry wouldn’t want for anything if Sirius had anything to say about it; though he would soon encounter Harry’s stubborn streak when it came to certain things.</p><p>-The Next Morning-</p><p>Harry groaned softly as he woke up. Looking around at his new room, after putting his glasses on, brought a smile to his face. It wasn’t massive, maybe a bit bigger than his old attic bedroom at the Dursleys. But it made him feel so warm to know that this place was his home, a place where all of him was accepted, especially his Magic. The smell of something cooking caught his nose and Harry made his way down to the kitchen. Seeing Sirius cooking for the first time was odd, in a surreal way, but he sat at the table regardless.</p><p>“Morning Sirius.” Harry yawned.</p><p>“Morning Harry, breakfast will be done in just a few moments.” Sirius smiled as he plated some scrambled eggs and bacon. A wave of his wand had a couple slices of toast perfectly browned and ready for butter or jam. A couple flicks and two plates of breakfast along with a pitcher of milk and a pitcher of orange juice floated onto the table and Sirius sat down. The two smiled before digging in together.</p><p>“This is pretty good, Sirius.” Harry complimented and Sirius puffed up in pride.</p><p>“Andromeda doesn’t think I can cook but even I can make breakfast!” Sirius exclaimed with a smile and Harry chuckled at his upbeat attitude. After the two had finished Sirius had only waved his wand a few times to clean the dishes and levitated the pitchers back into the Magical ice box. With the day free Harry and Sirius spent some time getting to know one another in person, instead of through letters. Harry loved hearing about his parents and Sirius was very much interested in Harry’s Enchanting. When Harry mentioned he wanted to work on trying to create an Artifact Sword Sirius had started asking various questions.</p><p>“I’ll start with a regular self-forged blade, probably a knife to start out with, just so I can get a feel for blade making.” Harry explained the first part of his summer plans. “After I get a good handle on that, then I’ll move on to adding enchantments. The basic stuff to start with of course, Durability and Ever-Sharp, if that works out I’ll move on to actually putting together the Runic Array for my first prototype blade.”</p><p>“As long as you’re careful, Harry, I’d hate for you to get hurt.” Sirius worried slightly.</p><p>“I don’t mind if you’re there watching the first couple of times Sirius. If it’ll ease your worries I encourage it.” Harry smiled at his godfather and Sirius smiled back.</p><p>“I’ll take you up on that Harry. Once I’m sure you’re safe, well as safe as making a blade can be at least, then I’ll worry less. Maybe we should get a House Elf? Then we won’t have to worry about Cleaning and Laundry. Plus if there’s an accident you can call for the House Elf to come get me or to help you get to me.” Sirius considered and Harry found the idea to be sound. House Elves were nothing but a boon to a Magical Household, after all. Having one around the cottage would take a couple chores off Harry and Sirius’ shoulders.</p><p>“Hmm, maybe they could cook from time to time too. I don’t mind cooking a bit, but I’m no expert or anything.” Harry mused and Sirius nodded.</p><p>“Might not be a bad idea.” Sirius nodded with a grin.</p><p>“Just a fair warning Sirius, I get a lot of mail sometimes. Now that I’m the ‘Youngest Artificer in History’ I expect that to happen again.” Harry warned and Sirius chuckled at his godson’s annoyed face.</p><p>“Well if you’d stop doing so many ground-breaking things maybe you wouldn’t have these problems?” Sirius teased and Harry picked up a couch cushion and smacked his godfather with it.</p><p>“Oh now you’ve done it Harry!” Sirius chuckled while grabbing a cushion in each hand. “This means war! Have at you!”</p><p>“Bring it on!” Harry laughed as he blocked Sirius’ first swipe with his own cushion. The laughter that filled the cottage house that day truly made the old building a real home. Warmth would always come to Sirius and Harry whenever they returned to this place from then on. Especially at the start of the small scale prank war that started that day.</p><p>“Oh, so you want to use Magic to win do you?!” Sirius laughed as he pulled his wand in response to Harry levitating cushions at him. “Let me show you how to truly fight like a Marauder my foolish godson!”</p><p>“You don’t have the skill to keep up with me!” Harry chortled as he launched another cushion at Sirius. The man barely moved his wand to snag it out of the air and have it join his collection of cushions.</p><p>“Your words only show your inexperience!” Sirius replied as he launched cushions at Harry. The boy stopped them with a wave of his hand, the cushions hanging in the air between the two men.</p><p>“I do not fear you!” Harry chuckled as he launched the cushions back at his godfather.</p><p>“Then you shall lose braver than most!” Sirius cackled as he waved his wand and rained the cushions down on Harry. The two spent until lunchtime indulging their childishness. Harry and Sirius happily exchanging cushion blows over and over again. It would be a heartwarming scene for anyone that could look in on it. It was truly the moment Harry and Sirius became family with a bond stronger than blood. The two even knew it and it only made the first ‘Cushion War’ of Wood End Cottage all the more epic!</p><p>
  <strong>-End Chapter-</strong>
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  <strong>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-</strong>
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  <strong>Aww, so heartwarming you just want to join in! Welp that wraps up First Year! Summer will be next chapter and the beginning of Second Year. We won’t spend too long in Second Year before moving on. So for all of you fans that just can’t wait until we get to Fourth Year for the Tournament, don’t worry, it’ll get here soon enough. But Harry still has to learn and grow and it’ll be fun to watch both his success and his failures. After all, failure is the mother of success, right? Several useful inventions have been made by accident in the pursuit of something else entirely!</strong>
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  <strong>Keep reading to see what our Artificer does in the future!</strong>
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  <strong>This chapter was a little bit short because it was a segue chapter, but I hope you all still enjoyed it!</strong>
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  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Summer Time</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! It’s summer time! That means projects and visits from friends!</strong>
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  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
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  <strong>Chapter 11 – Summer Time</strong>
</p><p>“Carefully…carefully…” Harry muttered to himself as he worked the right lens of his glasses back into the frame. In the week since summer had started he’d been eagerly awaiting the completion of his new smithy. According to the Magical Stonemason it would be ready tomorrow morning and Harry couldn’t wait to get to work. Right now he was finishing a side project he’d considered back when he was working on his Rune Safe. “There we are…just like new.” Harry grinned as he held up his newly enchanted glasses. An Engorgement Charm had increased the size of his glasses enough that he could etch a Runic Array into the right arm of the frame. Cancelling the Charm had returned the glasses back to their original size and he’d set to work putting the lens back into the frames properly.</p><p>“Now let’s see if this worked.” Harry smiled as he walked down into the living room of Wood End Cottage and saw Sirius reading the Daily Prophet. A tiny amount of mana sent into his glasses and Harry grinned when a number appeared on the right lens. ‘4,688’ was a marked improvement from what Sirius had had when they’d first ‘officially’ met at St. Mungos. His Godfather was obviously regaining the mana levels he’d had before his coma. The next good news was that his updated Runic Sequence worked. The original Scouter Sequence had no ability beyond counting and displaying a numeric amount. With a small addition to the sequence his glasses now showed the proper number with a comma place every three digits. This would make it a bit easier to glance at a reading and understand it as opposed to having to parse out any larger numbers. He’d stumbled over Flamel’s number for a moment when he’d first read it; and not just from the shock of the old Alchemist’s ridiculously high reading.</p><p>“Wotcher all! I’ve come for a visit!” Tonks announced loudly as she strolled through the front door without even knocking. Sirius had given her permission to do so after the first two times the Metamorph had done it. Tonks had been over nearly every day and Harry couldn’t say he disliked it.</p><p>“Hello Dora, here to tease Harry again?” Sirius chortled as he looked over his second cousin.</p><p>“Yep!” Tonks admitted shamelessly as she looked up at Harry at the top of the stairs. “Harry doesn’t mind, right?”</p><p>“I guess…” Harry sighed playfully making the bubbly teen grin brightly at him. A quick scan and Harry chuckled making the, currently purple-haired, girl tilt her head.</p><p>“What’s up, Harrikins?” Tonks asked as Sirius looked on an amused grin on his face.</p><p>“You’re mana increased again, Tonks.” Harry stated and Tonks looked confused.</p><p>“Not that I’m not happy about that, but how did you know? You don’t have your Scouter on you.” Tonks questioned and Harry’s grin only grew more.</p><p>“Oh? Don’t I?” Harry questioned as he tapped the right side of his glasses. “I think you’ll find that I very much do.”</p><p>“You made your glasses into a Scouter?” Tonks inquired as he made his way down the stairs. Sirius looked surprised at the announcement and put down his paper.</p><p>“Yeah, took a bit to figure out a safe way to do it, but my glasses are now the newest upgraded Scouter.” Harry smiled and swiftly rolled his eyes when both Tonks and Sirius gave a, rather patronizing, golf clap for his achievement.</p><p>“Nerd!” Tonks and Sirius exclaimed in unison before turning on each other and shouting. “Jinx!”</p><p>“Real mature you two.” Harry grimaced and Tonks and Sirius both burst into laughter.</p><p>“So have I increased again? I still maintain that I’ve got more mana than Moony!” Sirius looked eager and Harry could only shake his head at his Godfather’s competitiveness.</p><p>“You’re at ‘4,688’ now Sirius. That’s much higher than when you were in St. Mungos, but still not quite at Remus’ level yet.” Harry informed his Godfather.</p><p>“Just you wait, I just need a little more recovery time, and then I’m totally surpassing Moony!” Sirius nodded with his arms crossed over his chest.</p><p>“You said my mana increased but then you don’t tell me what it is? That’s mean, Harrikins!” Tonks pouted at him and Harry smiled before telling her.</p><p>“You’ve gone up to ‘5,876’ Miss Soon-To-Be-Auror.” Harry informed and Tonks smiled happily, pleased with her increasing Magical Strength.</p><p>“What’re you at Harrikins? You’ve been practicing since the last time you told us.” Tonks wondered and Harry was happy to inform his friend of what his Test Frame had said when he’d checked his mana level this morning.</p><p>“I’ve increased a bit; I’m at ‘1,182’ as of this morning.” Harry proclaimed.</p><p>“Congratulations, Harrikins, you finally broke four digits!” Tonks cheered as she pulled him into a hug. Sirius clapped on the couch while Harry gently returned the hug.</p><p>“So, what did you want to do today, Tonks?” Harry asked and Sirius waved his hand widely like an over-enthusiastic student.</p><p>“Battle Royale!” Sirius declared before tossing a spell at each of them from his previously hidden wand. Bright letters appeared over both of their heads. Above Harry’s head the words ‘Nymphadora’s Harry’ appeared in bright multi-color. Conversely above Tonks’ head, in the same multi-colored letters, appeared the words ‘Harry’s Nymphadora’ and both of them turned a bit pink in the cheeks at reading the labels hovering over them.</p><p>“Sirius you’re dead!” Tonks roared out at seeing her given name hovering in the air. The Metamorph’s hair had turned red to match her indignation as she hurled a Stinging Hex at the Marauder.</p><p>“You’ll never take me, Auror!” Sirius cackled as he deflected the Hex and dodged the cushion Harry had thrown at him.</p><p>“Let’s get him, Harry!” Tonks cried out as she threw another Stinging Hex at the laughing man.</p><p>“Agreed.” Harry nodded as he levitated more cushions to assail his Godfather with.</p><p>“You two are only proving my labels correct!” Sirius chortled as he dodged the cushions and mad his way out of the sitting room while emitting bright spots of light from his wand. The next few hours would be spent acting like children and Harry had to admit, it felt good to just let loose and relax with his loved ones.</p><p>-The Next Morning-</p><p>“This place is perfect!” Harry grinned as he looked around his new smithy. Sirius stood back with a large smile on his face seeing Harry so happy. The young Artificer was practically bouncing between the various areas of the new smithy with sparkles in his eyes. “Let’s get to work!” Harry declared and Sirius could only shake his head at his Godson’s gung-ho attitude when it came to Enchanting. But it would be interesting to watch Harry work, so Sirius settled in while Harry started preparing to use his new smithy for the first time.</p><p>“Well at least I made sure the smithy was fully stocked with materials.” Sirius mused to himself as he watched Harry working to shape a piece of iron into the shape of a knife. The repetitive strikes of the hammer rang throughout the smithy and the hot metal slowly took on a vaguely knife-like shape.</p><p>“Darn it!” Harry exclaimed and Sirius started for a moment thinking his Godson had hurt himself. “I messed it up!” Harry complained as he used the metal tongs to hold up the now misshapen iron that had been much more knife-shaped a couple hammer strikes ago.</p><p>“Can you fix it?” Sirius asked curiously.</p><p>“I think so.” Harry replied as he looked over his first attempt and then put it back into the flames of the forge. Sirius had to admit he was rather impressed by his Godson’s passion for Enchanting. Most eleven, soon-to-be twelve, year olds often gave up on a new thing if their first try failed, but Harry just learned from his attempt and tried again. It was a rather mature state that Harry demonstrated and Sirius found it admirable. The two would spend the next several hours in the smithy that day, by the end of it Harry had a proto-knife beaten out. Tomorrow would see if it could hold an edge when Harry tried to sharpen it.</p><p>-Third Week of July-</p><p>Harry had barely paid attention to his End of Year Exam results when they came in. He’d seen a few O’s and some EE’s followed by an A in Potions. It figured that his lowest grade would come from Snape. But Harry was busy making his fifteenth attempt at a knife that could hold the Durability and Ever-Sharp Enchantments so he had other things to focus on.</p><p>“Hmm, this one came out well.” Harry mused as he looked over his newest knife. “Maybe this one will be able to hold the Enchantments.” He hoped as he placed it on his work table to start etching runes. Etching out the Runic Array onto the blade wasn’t difficult after doing it fifteen times. “Now for the moment of truth.” Harry stated as he prepared to test the Durability Enchantment. Swinging his blacksmith hammer down onto the newly enchanted knife Harry grimaced as a crack appeared on the blade. “Bloody hell, why won’t they hold the Enchantment? I must being doing something wrong, but what?” The young Artificer mused as he looked over the damaged knife.</p><p>“Harry? Are you in here?” Penny called as she stuck her head inside the smithy.</p><p>“Penny? Oh, is it that time already?” Harry questioned as he looked towards the clock near the doorway. Sure enough it showed the time as half past One in the afternoon. Penny had asked to come over after lunch today and Harry had gotten caught up in his work.</p><p>“Any luck?” Penny asked as she looked over the table.</p><p>“Not with the Enchanting, my ability to make a knife has grown by leaps and bounds though.” Harry sighed as Penny gave him a smile and a reassuring, one-armed, hug.</p><p>“You’ll figure it out, Harry, just give it some time.” Penny assured him before gently guiding him towards the door of the smithy. “Take a break for a bit and let’s do something else. Oh yes, I wanted to tell you that my mana level has gone up again! I’m at ‘4518’ according to the Test Frame you gave me.”</p><p>“Way to make my improvement seem less impressive, Penny.” Harry huffed playfully at her. “But a break sounds good.” He agreed with the pretty blonde as he walked out of the smithy with her. “Tayla, would you clean the smithy, please?” He asked at the doorway and a soft pop was heard.</p><p>“Of course Young Master, Tayla be doing it right away!” Tayla, Wood End Cottage’s new House Elf, replied happily as she stood a few meters away. The female Elf was a joy for Sirius and Harry, and Sirius had made sure to give her the most, well-made, not-clothes that he could. The Elf was dressed in a modified pillowcase that was made of soft cotton and slightly dark beige in color.</p><p>“Thank you Tayla.” Harry thanked the Elf before following Penny outside. “So what did you want to do Penny?”</p><p>“Hmm, it’s a nice day how about you show me how much progress you’ve made with the flute Hagrid gave you?” Penny asked and Harry smiled slightly.</p><p>“Prepare to be amazed, Penny, I can play a lullaby that won’t make your ears bleed now!” Harry proclaimed sarcastically which made Penny giggle. Harry went to fetch the flute while Penny sat beneath a tree in the backyard waiting for him.</p><p>“Going to serenade your girlfriend, Harry?” Sirius teased as he saw Harry walking outside with his wooden flute in hand.</p><p>“Shut it!” Harry retorted as he made his way out and towards the tree Penny was sitting under.</p><p>“You’d be so proud, James! So proud!” Sirius chuckled to himself watching Harry sit beside Penny under the tree from the kitchen window.</p><p>-Harry’s Birthday-</p><p>Harry smiled as he sat at the kitchen table. Penny, Tonks, Andromeda, Ted, and Remus were all at Wood End Cottage to celebrate his birthday with him and Sirius. The cake was going to be brought out and present given soon and the twelve year old was as excited as any child. Sirius seemed almost as excited, but that could easily be put down to the man’s enjoyment of festivities in general.</p><p>“Harry, could you go find out what’s keeping Nymphadora and Penelope?” Andromeda asked as the two teens had gone upstairs to chat a few minutes ago and had yet to return.</p><p>“Sure thing.” Harry nodded as he left the table and made his way upstairs. Finding the guest room door closed, Harry knocked before speaking. “Tonks, Penny are you two in there?”</p><p>“Come on in Harry!” Tonks called from the inside and Harry opened the door just before Penny’s rebuttal was heard.</p><p>“Tonks!” Penny cried out in shock. Harry stopped dead at what was in front of him. Tonks, topless, along with Penny, also topless though clearly only because she’d had her shirt and bra jinxed off by the mischievous Metamorph. Needless to say Harry’s brain stopped functioning at that point and he stood in the doorway slack-jawed his eyes wide. Penny quickly covered herself and turned her back to Harry; Tonks smiled widely standing before him with no shame as Harry got a long look at her breasts.</p><p>“Happy Birthday Harry!” Tonks smiled as she reached for her bra and put it on. Penny was already pulling her shirt on her cheeks bright red while she glared at the Metamorph.</p><p>“Uh…” Harry couldn’t form words just yet his mind still stuck on the sight of his friend’s breasts.</p><p>“Tonks, I told you this was way too much for Harry! He’s twelve!” Penny hissed at her friend before casting a worried look at Harry.</p><p>“He’s starting puberty and you can’t tell me he’s not interested!” Tonks argued as she pulled her shirt on. “I just wanted to make sure the first pair of tits he sees were ours. Neither of us wants some other girl at Hogwarts trying to tempt him, this way Harry knows we’re interested ‘for real’.”</p><p>“This is still extreme.” Penny retorted fully dressed again. Though Tonks noticed that the blonde didn’t refute her claim of showing Harry they were interested ‘for real’ as she put it.</p><p>“Well we should all be getting down to the kitchen; it’s time for presents and cake.” Tonks smiled as she guided Penny past Harry and out of the room. Two minutes later Sirius came upstairs to find his wayward Godson. Seeing Harry standing in the doorway of the guest room staring blankly ahead made him pause. Waving his hand in front of Harry’s eyes got no response. Sensing a prank Sirius called down stairs.</p><p>“Tonks, why is Harry near catatonic?” Sirius questioned loudly from beside Harry.</p><p>“No idea Sirius!” Tonks’ yelled reply came from downstairs.</p><p>“Definitely don’t believe that.” Sirius shook his head as he gently shook Harry. Harry started for a moment before looking towards Sirius. “Alright there, Harry?”</p><p>“Ye-yeah…never better.” Harry nodded his cheeks burning fiercely. Sirius noted the reaction and chuckled.</p><p>“She got you good, huh?” Sirius chortled as he led his Godson downstairs.</p><p>“No!” Harry refuted instantly and Sirius just broke out into laughter at the obvious lie. All in all, Harry could definitely say this was his best birthday so far. His dreams for the rest of the summer were filled with his two friends however. Harry vowed that neither of them would ever find out, he’d never hear the end of the teasing otherwise.</p><p>-First Week of August-</p><p>“Finally!” Harry cheered as he held up the Enchanted Knife. He’d finally succeeded in making one that held both the Durability and Ever-Sharp Enchantments. This was the first step to making an Artifact Sword, sure it had taken him sixty seven tries to reach this first step, but progress was progress! Now he could start putting together a Runic Array for his future sword! “Hmm, what can I make it do that’ll set it apart from other Magical Swords throughout history?” Harry mused as he placed his Enchanted Knife on his work table and looked it over. A sword was a much larger project but the basics were the same; he’d practice forging a few one-handed swords to start, then he’d move on to trying to forge a two-handed sword. There were plenty of styles of swords he could try as well, but to begin with a simple one-handed broadsword would be his first goal. “But let’s take a break from this for now. I need a break from the forge. Let’s make a few more Test Frames and then start on the Runic Array for the sword afterwards.” Harry thought aloud as he went about cleaning up the smithy and cooling the forge so he could make Test Frames.</p><p>Harry had gotten rather good at producing his Test Frames now. The Runic Sequence was familiar and he’d mastered the Transfiguration required to make the stone frames. Applying the self-destruction sequence to the wooden overlays to protect his work was second nature by now. At the moment Harry had sixty finished Test Frames secured in his smithy. His goal was to finish another forty and sell all one hundred just before he left for his second year at Hogwarts. Another six hundred Galleons would make for a nice little nest egg. Sirius had gifted Harry a nifty item known as a Mokeskin Pouch for his birthday. Harry had been fascinated by the item and had to restrain himself from taking it apart to try and figure out how it worked. But seeing as they were rather rare Harry had decided to simply use it to store as much money as he could. His Rune Safe had limited space inside, but with most of his money inside the Mokeskin Pouch he was able to store a far larger amount within the security of his safe.</p><p>“Harry you got more mail!” Sirius called out as he held up a stack of envelopes and walked into the smithy.</p><p>“Again? It never stops!” Harry grumbled as he looked through his mail. “Strange, I haven’t gotten any mail from my study buddies since the beginning of summer. But all this mail from every Enchanter, Scholar, and their mothers has come in almost non-stop since halfway through July.” He mused on the curiousness of the lack of communication.</p><p>“Maybe write to them and see what’s going on? Or you could Floo them if you know their Floo address.” Sirius suggested and Harry nodded. He didn’t know the Floo addresses but Hedwig would do everything in her power to ensure his letters arrived at their destinations.</p><p>“I’ll write to them and send the letters with Hedwig tonight. If they don’t receive them then I’ll know something untoward is going on.” Harry stated and Sirius clapped him on the shoulder.</p><p>“If someone is interfering with your mail they’re going to rue the day they decided to do it. I’ll bring every lawyer, attorney, barrister, and any other form of legal counsel in Magical Britain down on their heads! The entire Black fortune will barely see a dent from that and I’ll have them taken for everything they own before I’m done!” Sirius ranted, he was very protective of his Godson after all. Harry smiled at the excessiveness of his Godfather but he appreciated the gesture, the thought of someone interfering with his mail was an unpleasant one.</p><p>“I guess I should look through these, thankfully I haven’t missed a letter from Fleur yet. She’s been studying some more obscure Magical Theory recently and it’s fascinating.” Harry grinned as he went through the stack.</p><p>“Ah yes, your French girlfriend, how is the young lady?” Sirius teased as Harry swatted him with a random letter.</p><p>“Hush you prat! It’s not like that!” Harry huffed at his Godfather.</p><p>“Oh, I’m terribly sorry, how is your French ‘Mistress’ been doing?” Sirius chuckled and Harry sent a Stinging Hex at the man.</p><p>“That’s worse than what you said before!” Harry exclaimed as Sirius rubbed the spot where the hex had hit him.</p><p>“I regret nothing!” Sirius grinned cheekily making Harry grumble about ‘lonely’ Godfathers that needed to get out more.</p><p>“Huh, this is different.” Harry blinked as he felt a thicker than normal envelope. Looking over the parchment revealed the envelope was signed in a foreign language. “I need the translation spell again.” He murmured and Sirius grinned at being able to help his godson. A slightly complex movement of Sirius’ wand and the words on the envelope were imposed by English words.</p><p>“To Artificer Potter, from Suzuki Tōshū; Yōkai Buki Seisaku Guild Member, Mt. Moriyoshi, Japan.” Harry read off confused about the words that the translation spell didn’t translate. “Why is someone from Japan writing to me?”</p><p>“Just a second, Harry, I know a slightly more specific translation spell that should be able to translate the rest of the words.” Sirius stated as he twisted his wand in a few loops and three swishes. The words on the letter all became super imposed by English.</p><p>“So he’s a Guild Member from a Monster/Spirit Weapon Crafting Guild?” Harry wondered before deciding to open the letter. Pulling out the thick letter Harry had Sirius use the translation spell again so that he could read it. In essence this man, Suzuki Tōshū, had heard of him becoming the ‘Youngest Artificer in History’ and felt compelled to write to him. The man had sent him a detailed process for ‘Creature Craft’ that his Guild had specialized in for almost a thousand years. The man had only given him the most basic of knowledge of the process but Harry was still stunned. Mr. Suzuki was apparently of the belief that talent like his should be nurtured, hence the instruction on ‘Creature Craft’, but not coddled which is why only the most basic process was sent. In the man’s own words, ‘You should be talented enough to make use of this; if you can’t then your skills only go so far.’; which Harry felt was a bit of a back-handed compliment. Still this knowledge of another Branch of Enchanting was amazing! Harry couldn’t wait to look over it and transcribe it into English so that he didn’t have to keep asking Sirius for the translation spell.</p><p>“Seems you have another new thing to look into.” Sirius teased, knowing his Godson would definitely be studying this when he wasn’t working on his current project.</p><p>“Yeah, I need a pen and one of my notebooks!” Harry grinned as he pulled open the drawer under his work table and pulled out the items. Sirius chortled as his Godson’s attention was fully taken up by copying down the information present in the letter. Sirius would remind Harry of his other plans a bit later, the young Artificer had a habit of letting new information become his sole focus until he had it either committed to memory or written down.</p><p>“What’s a Rite of Conquest?” Harry asked aloud and Sirius cocked an eyebrow at the term. He was aware of this one at least so filled his Godson in.</p><p>“It’s a term used in a few Magical Topics.” Sirius started and Harry turned to listen to his Godfather. “Usually you hear about it in Wandlore when a Witch or Wizard gains control and ownership of another’s wand by defeating them in a duel. But it was also used to take over the Lordship of Houses and forcefully absorb other Lines into the winner’s back several centuries ago.”</p><p>“Huh, according to this process if you want an item made from ‘Creature Craft’ to last more than a year or two you have to properly ‘Conquer’ the Magical Creature in question through a ‘Rite of Conquest’. Only then can you impart the Magical Creature’s ‘properties’ onto the item you’re making.” Harry read off the sheets of the letter. “If this is just the most basic stuff it’ll definitely take me a few years to get any real skill with this Branch of Enchanting.”</p><p>“Don’t take too much onto your plate Harry; it’s dangerous to stretch yourself too thin.” Sirius warned his Godson as he’d seen what overwork like that could lead to during his brief time with the Aurors.</p><p>“That’s what I have you, Tonks, and Penny for, right?” Harry grinned cheekily at his Godfather. “To pull me away from my work when I’m falling too far into it.”</p><p>“Right you are, Harry, right you are!” Sirius laughed as he patted his Godson on the back.</p><p>“This is funny, Mr. Suzuki wrote that if I make anything ‘worthwhile’ with this knowledge to come show him in Japan.” Harry chuckled as he held the page of the letter up to Sirius.</p><p>“Hey, could make for an interesting summer trip sometime.” Sirius shrugged as he read the page. “The Ladies of the East haven’t ever experienced the wooing of the Gentleman Sirius Black after all. I shouldn’t keep them waiting forever.”</p><p>“Aren’t you still trying to woo your Healer, Miss Reed?” Harry questioned knowing Sirius flirted with the woman every time he went in for his check-ups.</p><p>“Marlie is a wonderful woman.” Sirius nodded. “But if she wants to tame Sirius Black she’ll have to bring her best!” He finished with a grin while rubbing his chin with his index finger and thumb.</p><p>“I’m sure if she showed even a bit of interest you’d be like a puppy begging for attention.” Harry rolled his eyes with a laugh.</p><p>“I’ll have you know that I had dozens of admirers in my time, mister!” Sirius practically pouted at his Godson.</p><p>“‘Had’ being the key word there, Sirius. You aren’t getting any younger!” Harry replied doing a semi-passable imitation of Andromeda’s voice.</p><p>“Don’t you start too!” Sirius harrumphed as he was reminded of Andromeda’s prodding for him to settle down and start his own family. He’d get to it eventually! Just had to find the right woman, preferably one that would make his bigoted ancestors roll over in their graves! Imagining the Ancient and Noble House of Black having a Muggle-born or Half-Blood Lady was the greatest prank Sirius would ever pull off in his opinion.</p><p>“Yeah, yeah…just let me finish copying this process down. I want to hit one hundred Test Frames before the end of summer still.” Harry waved at his Godfather making Sirius shake his head as he made his way out of the smithy.</p><p>“Typical Ravenclaw nerd.” Sirius said just loud enough for Harry to hear.</p><p>“Oi!” Harry yelled at the empty doorway. Only Sirius’ laughter coming from outside could be heard in response to his indignation.</p><p>
  <strong>-End Chapter-</strong>
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  <strong>Well now, Tonks and Penny are staking a claim! At Tonks’ urging of course, Penny is still hesitant to make such a bold move! Just who is taking Harry’s mail from Hermione, Padma, and Mandy? Two guesses and the first one doesn’t count! We also see Harry receiving what amounts to a challenge of his skill from all the way across the world! What will Harry make of this new information? Will the crazy amounts of mail ever stop? Is Harry going to have to learn the Translation Spell? Yeah…probably. Poor Harry, never a moment of peace to just work on his stuff!</strong>
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  <strong> <span class="u">Current Mana Levels</span> </strong>
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  <strong>Harry – 1,182</strong>
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  <strong>Tonks – 5,876</strong>
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  <strong>Penelope – 4,518</strong>
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  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
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<a name="section0012"><h2>12. A Warning of Danger</h2></a>
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  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Someone has been interrupting Harry’s mail! Well a certain owl and new House Elf may have something to say about that!</strong>
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  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
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  <strong>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-</strong>
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  <strong>Chapter 12 – A Warning of Danger</strong>
</p><p>A loud crash just after breakfast alerted Harry and Sirius that something was going on at Wood End Cottage. Both wizards charged into the kitchen to see Hedwig screeching and clawing at an unfamiliar Elf while Tayla wrestled letters from the other Elf’s grip.</p><p>“What the bloody hell is going on?!” Sirius demanded loudly making both Elves freeze up while Hedwig flew over to Harry.</p><p>“Master, Tayla found this Elf trying to take Young Master Harry’s letters from Hedwig!” Tayla accused as she handed the three letters over to Harry. Looking them over Harry saw they were from his study buddies.</p><p>“Have you been taking all of my mail from my friends?” Harry asked the unknown Elf with a grimace.</p><p>“Dobby had to! Harry Potter must not return to Hogwarts this year!” The now named Dobby pleaded while wringing his hands.</p><p>“Who has ordered this?” Sirius demanded of the Elf.</p><p>“Nobody, Dobby is not supposed to be being here, sir.” Dobby nervously twisted his dirty pillowcase.</p><p>“What danger are you talking about?” Harry asked Dobby.</p><p>“Dobby cannot say, Great Harry Potter, sir.” Dobby replied twisting his large ears. “But horrible things are going to happen at Hogwarts this year. Dobby thought that if Harry Potter only received letters from people outside of Hogwarts he wouldn’t want to go back.”</p><p>“Dobby, I have to return to Hogwarts, I’m a student there.” Harry tried to console the Elf with a gentle tone.</p><p>“But Great Harry Potter sir mustn’t put himself in danger!” Dobby cried out fearfully.</p><p>“Thanks to your warning, Dobby, we’ll be able to inform the people that can prevent these bad things.” Sirius reassured the distraught Elf.</p><p>“Dobby has helped protect the Great Harry Potter?” Dobby asked his large eyes widening.</p><p>“You warned me ahead of time Dobby, so now I’ll have people that will look out for me and do everything they can to prevent these bad things.” Harry nodded with a smile to the trembling Elf.</p><p>“Oh Great Harry Potter sir is too kind to Dobby!” Dobby wailed as large tears of happiness ran down the Elf’s face. “Harry Potter is truly a Great Wizard!”</p><p>“Thank you for warning me Dobby, I truly appreciate it.” Harry thanked the crying Elf.</p><p>“Of course, Harry Potter sir!” Dobby nodded vigorously his large ears flapping. “Dobby must be going before he is missed. Please be safe Great Harry Potter sir.” With that and a pop Dobby disappeared from Wood End Cottage.</p><p>“Well this is bad news.” Harry sighed and Sirius had a frown across his face.</p><p>“I’ll Floo Dumbledore and tell him about this.” Sirius nodded as he headed towards the living room. “With any luck this forewarning will let Dumbledore put a stop to whatever these ‘bad things’ are before they start.”</p><p>“We can only hope.” Harry sighed as he hoped his school year wouldn’t be disrupted by whatever Dobby had tried to warn them about. But for now he had letters from his friends to read and respond to. Hopefully once he explained the situation his study buddies wouldn’t be cross with him.</p><p>-Diagon Alley ~ Near the End of August-</p><p>“We should have done the shopping earlier.” Harry grumbled as he and Sirius made their way through the crowded Alley.</p><p>“It’s not so bad Harry.” Sirius grinned catching all the eyes turning to look at his Godson.</p><p>“Speak for yourself, Sirius.” Harry grumbled feeling the crowd staring at him. “If Miss Reed hadn’t taken pity on you and agreed to a date last week we could have gotten this done then.”</p><p>“I just wanted to make sure she enjoyed herself!” Sirius defended his multi-day planning of his first date since Eighty One. “It worked too!”</p><p>“Yet you still refuse to admit that you’re doing exactly what I said you would if she showed any interest.” Harry shook his head with an exaggerated sigh.</p><p>“I am not following her like a puppy!” Sirius harrumphed with his arms crossed.</p><p>“You are, completely and totally.” Harry disagreed with a chuckle. “But she’s a wonderful woman so try to be a gentleman.”</p><p>“She is wonderful.” Sirius nodded his head. “Truly a beacon of kindness and care.”</p><p>“Explains why she’s giving you a chance, woman’s a saint.” Harry chortled while Sirius grumbled about him spending too much time with Andy and Dora.</p><p>“I just need my textbooks and we’ll be done.” Harry mentioned looking over his school list. “Why do I have to get one of every ‘Gilderoy Lockhart’ book? Is the teacher some rabid fan of the man?”</p><p>“Who knows?” Sirius shrugged as they walked towards Flourish and Blott’s. “Unfortunately it looks like today was the wrong day.” Looking up Harry was greeted by a long line outside of the bookstore and a large banner proclaiming that Gilderoy Lockhart would be signing copies of his new book ‘Magical Me’ today.</p><p>“Ugh…maybe I’ll be able to slip through the store unnoticed at least?” Harry asked with little hope.</p><p>“If anyone tries anything they’ll be dealing with me.” Sirius promised his hand patting his wrist. Harry knew that was where Sirius kept his wand holster and couldn’t help the small smile that formed on his face. It was nice to have someone looking out for him. The duo made their way through the crowd with little fanfare after assuring the clerk that they weren’t there for the book signing. Harry was able to collect his textbooks without much trouble, a few people greeted him a bit too enthusiastically and Sirius interjected himself to end the encounter when it happened. Making their way up to the counter Harry caught the attention of the ‘man of the hour’. Lockhart made his way over to Harry and actually reached out for him. Harry was already stepping back from the man when Sirius’ hand grabbed onto Lockhart’s wrist.</p><p>“Thanks Sirius.” Harry whispered getting a nod from his Godfather.</p><p>“Something I can help you with?” Sirius asked Lockhart with a glare and the blonde man retracted his arm.</p><p>“Just thought Harry would want to get on the front page of the Prophet with me.” Lockhart spoke up with his ‘famous’ smile.</p><p>“He doesn’t.” Sirius stated flatly. The flash of a large Wizarding Camera going off in their direction indicated that Harry would probably be on the front page tomorrow regardless. Lockhart quickly went back to the middle of the crowd and made the announcement that he would be the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts this year.</p><p>“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Harry grimaced as the blonde man posed like a peacock for the cameras after his announcement. A bit of mana to his glasses and Harry got a reading on his soon-to-be Professor. ‘What? Are you kidding me? 2,158? That’s it?’ He thought to himself at the low reading for an adult wizard. “He had to be the only one that applied. No way Dumbledore would hire him if he had ANY other options.” Harry muttered making Sirius chuckle.</p><p>“Maybe he’s the ‘terrible thing’ happening this year?” Sirius joked as he and Harry walked up to the counter and started getting the textbooks purchased.</p><p>“I wish that was the extent of it. But I somehow doubt it.” Harry sighed as Sirius paid for the books. Just as they were turning to leave a fight broke out amongst two of the customers in the shop. From the distinct hair colors it was easy for Sirius to tell who the fighters were. As they were close Sirius went to help separate his red-haired acquaintance from the Death Eater he was punching. Though not before giving some encouragement, of course.</p><p>“Hit him harder, Arthur!” Sirius crowed happily watching Arthur Weasley punch Lucius Malfoy while the two men tussled on the ground.</p><p>“Sirius?” Molly Weasley questioned before raising her voice. “Don’t encourage him! Stop this!”</p><p>“Come on you two, break it up!” Sirius hollered as he pulled Arthur off of Lucius. “Good punches there, Arthur.” He whispered to the man with a grin as the Malfoy Patriarch was standing from the floor.</p><p>“Black.” Lucius greeted stiffly.</p><p>“Not very polite of you Lucius, you forgot to address me with my title.” Sirius replied regally, though the undercurrent of amusement in his voice was impossible to miss.</p><p>“Lord Black.” Lucius greeted a second time his face carefully controlled but his eyes burning with rage.</p><p>“How are you today, Malfoy?” Sirius questioned as Molly fussed over Arthur.</p><p>“Fine thank you, come along Draco.” Lucius answered brusquely as he ushered his son out of the bookstore.</p><p>“Still a wanker.” Sirius chortled to himself seeing the man leave. “How’ve you been Arthur?” He greeted his acquaintance making the older redhead smile and shake his hand.</p><p>“Doing well Sirius; heard you’ve been healing. Molly and I were so pleased to hear about your recovery.” Arthur smiled even as a small bruise was forming on his jaw.</p><p>“Molly, how’re you? The kids doing well?” Sirius asked and the Matriarch of the Weasley Family smiled and confirmed that she and the kids were doing well. Sirius listened with a grin as Molly told him about her children. Bill and Charlie had graduated Hogwarts while he’d been in a coma so it was interesting to hear about what the two kids had grown up to become.</p><p>“Wicked, didn’t think we’d get to meet you here Harry.” Ron Weasley commented as he and the twins stood before Harry. The little red-haired girl next to them must have been their sister.</p><p>“Was honestly hoping to not have a spectacle made of just shopping for my school things, should have known better I suppose.” Harry shrugged with a polite smile.</p><p>“Hey, Harry, before mum notices or Percy gets back could you give us a little reading?” The twin on the right asked while the twin on the left acted as the lookout for Percy or their mother’s attention. Ron and Ginny’s eyes widened at the idea and Harry didn’t see the harm.</p><p>“Sure, why not?” Harry replied. “Your father is apparently friends with Sirius so I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.” With a little mana to his glasses Harry looked at the twin who asked and got the first reading. Changing his gaze over to the lookout twin Harry repeated the mana activation of his glasses’ Scouter function getting another reading, repeating this while looking at Ron and then the little sister gave Harry everything he needed.</p><p>“So what’s the reading like?” The first twin asked seeing Harry refocus on him.</p><p>“You…” Harry started but didn’t know which twin he was addressing.</p><p>“Fred.” Fred informed eagerly.</p><p>“Right, well Fred you have a mana reading of ‘2,688’.” Harry informed him. Getting the other twin’s attention Harry continued. “George, you have a reading of ‘2,694’ while Ron has a reading of ‘438’ and your sister has a reading of ‘106’.”</p><p>“Hear that Fred, I’m a wee bit stronger than you.” George chuckled at his twin.</p><p>“Not by much prat.” Fred remarked.</p><p>“How are the twins so much stronger than us?” Ron questioned looking at both of his brothers annoyed. The sister looked on shyly but also curious about what her reading meant when compared to others her age. She hadn’t even been to Hogwarts yet after all.</p><p>“Probably because we aren’t lazy prats.” Fred snarked while George nodded ‘sagely’ making Ron’s ears go red.</p><p>“What’re you at now days, Harry? We haven’t heard any updates since you showed us the Test Frame back at Hogwarts.” George inquired and Harry figured it wouldn’t hurt to tell them.</p><p>“I’ve been trying to keep up my practice while still working on my Enchanting. I’ve made some decent progress I think; last I checked I was at ‘1,312’.” Harry shrugged.</p><p>“Ready to go, Harry?” Sirius asked and Harry nodded before bidding the Weasleys goodbye. A short time later and the duo were once more in the comfort of Wood End Cottage.</p><p>“I’m thinking this year is going to be annoying with that peacock as a Professor.” Harry commented and Sirius chuckled at his Godson’s put upon expression.</p><p>“If he does anything stupid just let Dumbledore know.” Sirius advised. “I’m sure Dumbledore just had a lack of candidates like you thought.”</p><p>“I would hope so; the man seems like a bit of a joke so far.” Harry shook his head exasperated. The duo was interrupted in their conversation by the arrival of a happy Metamorph who practically pranced out of the Floo.</p><p>“You’re looking at the newest Auror Cadet with advanced placement directly under the Senior Auror, Alastor ‘Mad-Eye’ Moody himself!” Tonks cheered happily making Harry and Sirius clap for her.</p><p>“Congratulations Dora, I knew you’d make it in!” Sirius praised his second cousin, even though they mostly viewed each other with an uncle/niece type of relationship.</p><p>“Good job, Tonks!” Harry smiled widely. Tonks smiled back before moving over and sitting next to him quickly.</p><p>“It’s thanks to your Talisman, Harry! I even aced the stealth test since I didn’t trip even once!” Tonks exclaimed as she wrapped him in a hug which Harry returned. “So to say ‘thank you’ for your awesome gift you get a reward!”</p><p>“What?” Harry asked only for Tonks’ smile to turn into a devious grin. Before Harry could do anything the ecstatic Metamorph began raining kisses on his cheeks over and over again. “Tonks! Stop! Sirius is watching!” Said Godfather was happily laughing at his Godson’s ‘misfortune’ while Tonks continued to smother Harry’s cheeks with kisses. After a few minutes of embarrassing Harry in front of Sirius, Tonks stopped her kisses and just hugged Harry tightly.</p><p>“But Harry, I truly want to say thank you.” Tonks smiled brightly at him as they pulled away from each other. “I’ve gotten to achieve a place in my chosen career right out of Hogwarts thanks to your help. It means more than I can say, so thank you Harry.”</p><p>“I only made a Talisman to help you Tonks. You did all of the real work.” Harry smiled back. “Don’t sell all of your studying and practice short, you earned your position.”</p><p>“Yep, I’m keeping you!” Tonks smiled as she pulled Harry back into a hug. Sirius’ roaring laughter only made Harry annoyed, since he was kind of ruining what would be a heartfelt moment. At least he had gotten used to Tonks’ affections since they’d know each other. Tonks would leave a short time later to go share the news with Penny, leaving Sirius and Harry to get Harry’s school things packed into his trunk.</p><p>-September 1<sup>st</sup>-</p><p>Harry waved to Sirius and Remus as the Hogwarts Express pulled away from King’s Cross. He and Penny were sharing a compartment along with a small blonde girl called Luna Lovegood. The blonde was a bit spacey, or moon-brained, as Harry had heard others call it in the Magical World. But she was nice enough and Penny had taken a liking to the younger blonde. The trip was uneventful for the most part. Harry’s study buddies had stopped by for a bit to chat, the trolley lady had come and gone. As they approached the school Harry had exited the compartment and waited outside for the girls to change into their robes. Once they were done he had changed in the compartment while they waited outside.</p><p>“Firs’ Years! Firs’ Years over here!” Hagrid called as they stepped off the train. Luna smiled at Penny and Harry and thanked them for riding with her. The spacey blonde then skipped off towards the gentle giant.</p><p>“She’s a fun one.” Harry remarked as he followed Penny towards the carriages.</p><p>“A bit spacey, but she’s smart under it, probably a Ravenclaw.” Penny smiled and Harry considered it likely, that or a Hufflepuff with how friendly the little blonde was. A ride up to the school didn’t take long and soon the Sorting was underway.</p><p>“Told you.” Penny smiled as she clapped along with the rest of the Ravenclaw Table when Luna Lovegood was sorted into their House.</p><p>“I never said anything against it.” Harry replied as he waved Luna over to them and the small blonde skipped over to them and sat next to Penny. From there Harry and Penny both found that Luna was a bit of an ‘odd duck’ during meal times. She preferred to make her food into shapes or vague sculptures before she ate. Harry found it amusing while Penny sighed and encouraged Luna to eat faster so she got enough ‘real’ food before dessert. When dessert did come they discovered Luna had a love of pudding, the blonde happily partaking of every variety within reach.</p><p>It wasn’t long after that the students made their way to their dorms. Penny led the way for the Ravenclaws and Harry was looking forward to some reading before bed. Hopefully with a good night’s sleep he’d be prepared to deal with the first day of classes. He was already dreading getting his timetable tomorrow, if only because he didn’t want to know when he’d have to be in the presence of either Snape or Lockhart. The blonde peacock had already made a showing of himself at dinner when Dumbledore announced him. Harry really felt like the man was much more pomp than substance.</p><p>-First Defense Against the Dark Arts Class-</p><p>“I was right.” Harry huffed to himself watching Lockhart strut around the front of the classroom. Then the narcissist had the gall to make them take a test about himself! ‘Who the hell cares what this moron’s favorite color is?’ Harry raged in his own mind. The blonde idiot, as Harry now dubbed the man in his mind, then proceeded to unleash Cornish Pixies on the classroom. The troublemaking little sprites had quickly started tearing the classroom up after easily taking Lockhart’s wand and tossing it out of the window.</p><p>“Students! Use what you’ve learned from my books to stop the pixies!” Lockhart called out as the Pixies finished destroying the front of the room while Lockhart literally hid under the Professor’s desk.</p><p>“Absolutely useless.” Harry growled as the Pixies started zipping towards the students. “Stop!” He intoned and his voice echoed with power. A nifty little trick that Penny had found out was that verbally stating the intent of a Wandless spell gave a noticeable improvement. It didn’t even have to be a proper incantation, just the intent behind the Magic itself. Harry awed his entire class by demonstrating this with his command. The Cornish Pixies all froze in mid-air and hung there, stopped in whatever position they’d been in at the time. The Impedimenta Jinx slowed a target or targets down. Taking that spell a bit further resulted in the Immobulus Charm, which rendered said target or targets completely immobilized. It had been easy for Harry to refine his Wandless Impedimenta into a Wandless Immobulus over the summer. With a movement of his hands Harry made the floating Pixies gather into one area. Then he simply continued using Levitation to stuff the little troublemakers back into their cage. A Wandless Colloportus Charm had the caged door locked and only then did Harry release his first spell. The now free Pixies instantly went back to flitting about their cage but were clearly staying away from the cage door. Harry’s Magical display had frightened the little blighters into staying within their cage.</p><p>“Excellent Mr. Potter, simply excellent! I trust you remembered that from the time when I…” Lockhart began only to be cut off by Harry.</p><p>“Shut it you pompous windbag!” Harry growled at the incompetent man. “Do you have any idea what a swarm of Cornish Pixies could do unprepared students?! How the bloody hell did you think this was a good idea?! You’re so incompetent you make Professor Quirrel from last year look good! At the very least the man tried to teach even with his horrible stutter!” The young Artificer raged at the blonde twit. “Make no mistake I’ll be reporting this to both my Head of House and the Headmaster!” With that said Harry Wandlessly Summoned his bag to himself and stormed out of the room. He was going to do just what he said and see Flitwick and Dumbledore about that idiot.</p><p>“That is most troubling indeed, Mr. Potter.” Flitwick grumbled as he finished listening to Harry’s account of what happened in his first Defense Against the Dark Arts class of the year. In truth the part-Goblin Charms Master was tightly reigning in his emotions lest he storm into Lockhart’s office and tear strips from the man for endangering the students.</p><p>“Should I go to the Headmaster with this too, Professor?” Harry asked his Head of House.</p><p>“You should prepare for your next class, Mr. Potter.” Flitwick advised the Second Year. “I have a free period right now so I’ll personally see the Headmaster about what Professor Lockhart has done.”</p><p>“Alright Professor, thank you for seeing me so quickly.” Harry thanked the Charms Professor and Flitwick dismissed him from his office. Flitwick sat in his office for several minutes after Harry left, to cool his head, before he made his way to Dumbledore’s office. He wasn’t one to judge others but Lockhart was proving to be a less than competent teacher compared to his reputation.</p><p>-Dumbledore’s Office ~ Several Minutes Later-</p><p>“I see; that is most troubling Filius.” Dumbledore nodded as he mulled over what he’d just heard. “Perhaps Professor Lockhart will need some assistance with his first time teaching? I believe I can clear some time in my schedule to sit in on a few of his lessons. If I see anything else like this I’m afraid I’ll have to try and find a replacement. As it stands I think a Notice of Deficiency will serve to let Professor Lockhart know that his current methods are not up to Hogwarts’ Standards.”</p><p>“I believe that would be for the best.” Flitwick nodded. A ‘Notice of Deficiency’ was basically a warning to a Professor that their performance was currently unacceptable. It was the first step in the ‘Process of Dismissal’ for a Professor. Professor Snape had quite a few brought against him over his years as Potions Professor. But the man’s NEWT graduates were some of the best Potioneers in Magical Britain and even Magical Europe. So the Head of Slytherin had managed to retain his position at Hogwarts through the sheer competency he could produce in the students that did make it through his classes.</p><p>-After Classes-</p><p>Harry quickly made his way towards his hidden workshop with Penny in tow. Once there Harry tested that the Ward Lock was still working before the two entered. Harry checked over the workshop area before heading into the smithy. Everything was as Harry had left it at the beginning of summer, Penny checked over the Transfiguration that made up the forge and happily stated that the stone showed no signs of reverting. This was a testament to Tonks and Penny’s success with their Permanent Transfiguration. Of course it only worked because they were changing stone into a different shape of stone. They hadn’t transfigured it into another material or tried to expand or shrink it. The stone was still the same at the base level just in a different shape so Permanent Transfiguration was possible.</p><p>Harry was pleased that his set up at Hogwarts was still in good condition so that he could continue his work on forging an Artifact Sword. He had started to compile Runic Sequences for various effects and now had to work out which ones would go together and result in a functional Runic Array. He had a general idea of what he wanted the Sword to be capable of and now it was down to him to find a combination of sequences that would work. Harry set to work writing out various Runic Sequences at his desk while Penny practiced her Wandless Magic. The pretty blonde was making good headway on getting her entire spell repertoire Wandless. That fact made both Harry and Tonks a bit jealous of the Prefect. Penny seemed to have a knack for getting spells to work for her and had easily left Tonks and Harry in the dust with how many Wandless spells she had under her belt.</p><p>A couple of hours later and Harry sighed as he looked over his work so far. Several of the sequences he’d hoped to incorporate together wouldn’t work, even with Magical Circuits. The materials he had at his disposal simply couldn’t hold several of these properties at the same time. With some more time he may be able to make a low-grade Alchemical Metal that could, theoretically, hold some of them in a single Array but that was still a long shot. He’d have to work slowly and make some Arrays that were successful combinations of the various sequences he wanted for his final Sword. Then he’d potentially find a way to transmute a metal capable of holding the finished Array while also finding out how to make said final Array in the process. This was going to be a very long project and Harry could only sigh that his classes were going to take up so much of his time.</p><p>“Harry can I borrow the Test Frame?” Penny asked as she walked over to his desk.</p><p>“You don’t have to ask Penny.” Harry reassured the blonde as he handed her the Test Frame after pulling it out of the drawer he kept it in.</p><p>“Maybe not, but it is still polite to ask.” Penny smiled as she held the Talisman in her hands and fed her mana into it. When her reading popped up Penny grinned happily before turning to show Harry the ‘4762’ displayed.</p><p>“Yeah, yeah, rub it in why don’t you?” Harry huffed seeing how far he still had to go to even get close to Penny or Tonks’ mana levels. Harry chose to place the even higher numbers like Dumbledore, or the insane number that Flamel had, on the back burner for now. He’d grow stronger as he practiced and so far he was striking a good balance between his Wandless Magic and his Enchanting. Again he lamented at all the time he’d have to devote to his classes. That was time he could add to his Enchanting or Wandless practice, but even he realized that most of his courses still offered him new knowledge. For now it wasn’t wise or feasible to try and leave Hogwarts. ‘Maybe in the coming years though? No one ever said you couldn’t graduate early.’ He mused to himself as he and Penny left the workshop together and headed for Ravenclaw Tower.</p><p>
  <strong>-End Chapter-</strong>
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  <strong>Hmm, a warning of something dire, but Sirius was able to pass on the message to Dumbledore. Will the forewarning help or will certain events still take place? It can be hard to prepare when you’re unsure of what you’re preparing for. But Harry has met everyone’s favorite moon-child! Luna will be a bit of a periphery character but Harry will still let her wander around with him. Tonks got accepted into the Aurors and is already apprenticed under Moody! That might gain her some clout in the Auror Corps. a little faster. Harry has also called out Lockhart for his incompetence, and showed off his Wandless skill a bit at the same time. Our young Artificer is also finding out just how hard it is to progress in the Artifact Creation process. So many Magical Branches have to be successfully brought together even for a Minor Artifact. This is only made harder when trying to make higher Grade Artifacts.</strong>
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  <strong>Keep reading to see how Harry’s Second Year progresses!</strong>
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  <strong> <span class="u">Current Mana Levels</span> </strong>
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  <strong>Harry – 1,312</strong>
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  <strong>Tonks – 5,876 (Outdated)</strong>
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  <strong>Penelope – 4,762</strong>
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  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Alchemy, Prefect, Halloween</h2></a>
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  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! More progress for Harry and his Enchanting. Luna isn’t being treated well in Ravenclaw and Penny is on the warpath! Also this year’s Halloween Incident!</strong>
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  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
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  <strong>Chapter 13 – Alchemy, Prefect, Halloween</strong>
</p><p>Harry was walking toward his hidden workshop after the end of classes. Today he would be attempting more Alchemy to try and create an Alchemical Metal capable of holding the first of his prototype Arrays. He was only half paying attention to his surroundings as he walked since the path was so familiar to him now. It came as a bit of a surprise to run into Luna Lovegood in the out of the way corridor that led to his workshop.</p><p>“Hello Harry, nice to see you again.” Luna smiled with a lilting tone. Harry couldn’t help but smile back at the ‘moon-brained’ blonde. He wondered if the rumors about the Lovegood Family having some Fae Ancestry might have some truth to them.</p><p>“Good afternoon Luna, how’re you today?” Harry greeted and Luna’s smile became more meaningful as he saw her gaze sharpen and focus on him completely.</p><p>“I’m doing well, thank you for asking.” Luna chirped back happily.</p><p>“What brings you to this part of the castle, Luna?” Harry asked. This corridor was well off the beaten path for most anyone. It was one of the reason’s he’d chosen it when looking for a place to practice.</p><p>“There are many secrets in Hogwarts.” Luna stated before tilting her head slightly. “But I feel the one in this corridor isn’t Hogwarts’ secret, but someone else’s.”</p><p>“How do you know there is a secret here?” Harry asked trying to school his features. How Luna could have figured out where his hidden workshop was by herself greatly interested Harry.</p><p>“I told you, I feel it.” Luna repeated before she giggled slightly. “Also you always head in this direction after classes and no one sees you for hours afterwards. So you have to be going somewhere.”</p><p>“Right.” Harry sighed before smiling fondly at the quirky blonde. In the month since term started Luna had become another friend of his, much like his study buddies, and Penny had taken a liking to her fellow blonde. “Ah, what the hell…do you want to see the secret Luna?” He asked and Luna nodded, still smiling gently.</p><p>“That’s neat.” Luna commented as Harry revealed the door to his workshop.</p><p>“Glad you like it.” Harry chuckled as he opened the door and allowed Luna inside. The little blonde moved around the workshop inspecting everything with her eyes. She made small sounds of wonder every now and then and Harry followed her into the smithy so she could have a look.</p><p>“You’ve made yourself very comfortable here, Harry.” Luna mentioned after the ‘tour’ of the workshop.</p><p>“I can work in peace and try out new things.” Harry shrugged and Luna flitted about the room. “Feel free to hang out here for a bit if you want. I’m going to be trying my hand at a bit more Alchemy.” Luna nodded as she picked up a book on Charms that had been left in the room. The small blonde happily set herself in a chair off to the side of the room and began reading. Harry chuckled at how easy Luna was to please and set to work removing one of the metal plates that came with his Alchemist Starter Kit. It had a pre-etched Transmutation Circle already capable of being used on it. That saved Harry quite a bit of time drawing it out himself. He was going to attempt to transmute his first Alchemical Metal, Oulm.</p><p>He’d chosen Oulm since it was a very basic and low-grade Alchemical Metal. If you knew how to transmute and could measure out the proper amounts of the mundane ingredients, Oulm wasn’t difficult to make. While it wasn’t really any stronger than mundane steel it did have quite a useful amount of Magic Conductivity. That is, Magic flowed through it well without breaking the metal down, so it made a good base to try forging a Magical Blade from. Now Harry just needed to measure out his ingredients, it was a good thing he’d ordered a good amount through Owl Order before returning to school.</p><p>“Alright, so Oulm’s base ingredients are iron, copper, and ground dragon bone.” Harry mumbled to himself as he gathered the materials. “One kilogram of iron, one kilogram of copper, and finally five hundred grams of powdered dragon bone.” He continued to mutter as he measured out his ingredients on the set of scales that came with the Kit. He then placed the measured materials on the Transmutation Circle and prepared to pour his mana into the plate. “Here goes nothing.” He mused before sending his mana into the plate.</p><p>The Transmutation Circle began to glow a bright blue as Harry’s mana filled it. After a few seconds the only Magical Material, the powdered dragon bone, began to glow white-blue and quickly spread to the iron and copper. Harry watched on fascinated as the three materials seemingly merged together as they glowed. Small sparks of magical discharge came from the materials as they were transmuted and when the process finished Harry pulled his hands away from the plate. The newly transmuted metal was giving off small bits of light that floated about like dust particles.</p><p>“According to the instructions once the light fades away I can test it to see if I was successful.” Harry nodded to himself as he looked over the ‘Beginners Alchemy for Enchanters’ book again to confirm. In just about a minute the glow faded and Harry picked up the transmuted metal. It was a dull grey color and weighed the same as the original materials combined. Other than that it had no real distinct features. “Alright, time to test it.” Harry breathed deeply before exhaling to get rid of nerves. A small amount of mana flowed from Harry’s hand and into the metal he was holding. The metal showed no reaction, so he poured a bit more mana into it. After a few moments, just when Harry was starting to think he’d failed, the metal in his hand began to glow faintly and even maintained the glow for several seconds after he stopped supplying mana to it.</p><p>“I think you succeeded, Harry.” Luna piped up from where she was reading. The spacey blonde had watched the transmutation and felt the need to speak up.</p><p>“I think so too.” Harry grinned as he looked at the Oulm in his hand. Even though it was low-grade Alchemical Metal, it was still Magical Metal and should, theoretically, be able to hold more complex Runic Arrays than mundane iron or steel. “Now I just have to forge you into the proper Form and apply an Array.” He smiled as he thought about which Arrays he’d already worked out. None of them were everything he wanted in his Artifact Sword, but each Array was a separate part of the overall whole that would, someday, make up his Artifact Sword.</p><p>-A Week Later-</p><p>“Luna why’re you here?” Penny asked as she was let into Harry’s workshop and spotted the little blonde.</p><p>“Harry lets me hang out here and study if I want when he’s in here working.” Luna replied as she went over her homework at a desk Harry had moved into the corner of his workshop for her.</p><p>“Well that’s nice of him.” Penny smiled at Harry and got a smile back from the Artificer. Harry himself was busy preparing his newest batch of Oulm for the forge. His first bit…hadn’t gone well. Harry had never tried to forge with Magical Metal before, so there was a very high chance that he’d make a mistake. He had and it had left his Oulm an inert slag after he’d made it too hot and basically ‘beaten’ the Magic out of it. Still Harry was confident he’d finally worked out the kinks of working with Oulm. So now he was preparing the next several ingots he’d made of the stuff for forge shaping.</p><p>“Luna, where are your shoes?” Penny asked and Harry looked up and saw the little blonde’s bare feet exposed from beneath her robes.</p><p>“I couldn’t find them this morning, so I had to go to classes without them. I didn’t want to be late or miss a class.” Luna replied looking at her feet.</p><p>“Did someone take your shoes, Luna?” Penny questioned gently, though Harry could practically feel the Prefect’s Magic trembling with rage.</p><p>“I suppose it’s possible.” Luna looked saddened by this admission. “Several of our Housemates don’t seem to like me talking about the Creatures we report about in the Quibbler.” Penny gently rubbed the First Year’s back and pulled her into a comforting hug. Harry frowned at what Luna had said; bullying was for those of lesser mind, not the ‘supposedly’ intelligent types that made up the Ravenclaw House. It seemed Luna would be needing a Ward Lock of her own for her dorm room. That wouldn’t take him long and would solve part of the problem at least.</p><p>“Don’t worry Luna, I’ll find your things and make sure those responsible are punished for it.” Penny assured the younger blonde. “It’s my responsibility as a Prefect after all.” Luna nodded into the hug and mumbled a quiet ‘Thank you.’ to the Sixth Year Prefect.</p><p>-Same Night ~ Ravenclaw Common Room-</p><p>That night in the Ravenclaw Common Room was one no student of the House would forget. They saw polite Penelope Clearwater truly angry for the first time. Harry had already made the Ward Lock for Luna and showed her how to use it. He’d gotten a hug from the happy blonde for it and was now sitting beside her as Penny worked herself up into a proper rage.</p><p>“I can’t believe what I’m seeing!” Penny yelled as she used a Wandless Summoning Charm to retrieve Luna’s missing things from around the Ravenclaw Tower. Many of her possession had come floating down from the Girls Dorms and several girls looked very shocked when certain items floated into the Common Room. “Do you all have no decency? No shame? She’s a First Year!” Penny yelled at the girls that had basically outed themselves as responsible. Once Luna’s stolen things were all in the room, Harry and Luna picked them up and carried them to the little blonde’s room. They could still hear Penny’s angry voice even from upstairs, well…as far as Harry could go of course. Boys couldn’t actually set foot on the first landing without being tossed off and making an alarm go off.</p><p>“Wands!” Penny commanded and the wands of seven different girls, the one’s that had practically outed themselves, flew from wherever the girls normally kept them and into the Prefect’s hand. “You lot will follow me to Professor Flitwick’s Office immediately!” She ordered and when the girls looked obstinate the blonde simply ‘willed’ her intent upon them. All seven found themselves being floated through the air by their robes and following the enraged Penny as she marched out of the Common Room. The entirety of Ravenclaw House simply stared at the door leading out of the Common Room in shock. Not even the Seventh Years made a noise for several moments. None of them had known that Penny was capable of that at all. To Wandlessly Summon all of the stolen items from this distance, to take seven wands that were all stashed away on their owner’s person, and then to levitate seven other people like it was nothing. It was mind-boggling to the other students; the fact that Penny had done it all without even drawing her own wand left many of them shaken.</p><p>“I wouldn’t recommend making her upset like this again.” Harry spoke up as he passed through the Common Room and headed towards the stairs for the Boy’s Dorms. “She didn’t even get aggressive enough to use Hexes or Jinxes. They all got off light compared to what I’ve seen her do.” With his piece said Harry ascended the stairs to his dorm room for the night.</p><p>-The Next Weekend ~ Saturday-</p><p>“Almost, just a few more centimeters…” Harry mumbled to himself as he carefully filled in the last line of the Magic Circuit he’d etched into one of the Oulm knives he’d forged. Circuit Base slowly poured from the tip of the Alchemic Pen as he carefully filled in the line. “And…done.” He smiled as he put the Pen down and let his creation cool and solidify. This was the first Oulm knife he’d ‘finished’ so far. He’d ended up ruining the first three he’d tried to etch Arrays into. Oulm was low-grade for a reason as it could lose the Magic inherent in the metal with improper handling. ‘Man, what I wouldn’t give to have some Orichalcum.’ Harry thought to himself as he waited so that he could test his knife. Orichalcum was much higher-grade Magic Metal and its intrinsic Magical Properties made it one of the best substances for conducting Magic in the world. Unfortunately it was still rather far out of Harry’s limited ability with Alchemy to even attempt to produce. Maybe in a year or two he’d have the skill to try and transmute it, but for now it was just wishful thinking.</p><p>Seeing the Oulm knife set and ready, Harry picked the knife up and set about testing it. The Array he’d chosen to etch into this knife incorporated four different Runic Sequences; Cut Prevention, Durability, Severance, and his own unique sequence for Mana, the same as he used for the Counting Sequence to identify in his Scouters and Test Frames. It would probably seem odd for any Magical Bladesmith to have both the Severance Sequence and the Cut Prevention Sequence on the same blade. Cut Prevention made a blade ‘dull’ for all intents and purposes, which made a blade useless unless it was paired with an activation/deactivation sequence. While the Severance Sequence allowed a blade to slice through things that would normally be too hard or durable for it to cut through. But that was one of Harry’s end goals for his Artifact Sword; a blade that wouldn’t cut anyone or anything, except exactly what was specified in the Array. In this case Harry wanted the knife to be able to cut mana or Magic. Admittedly his twelve year old mind thought slicing spells apart would be really cool, so he’d set out to make that his Artifact Sword’s claim to fame. ‘How cool will it be to have a ‘Spell Cutting Sword’?’ Harry pondered an excited grin on his face.</p><p>“Alright, first test, cutting a Lumos Charm.” Harry grinned as he brought a ball of light into existence. Moving the blade through the ball of light yielded no results however. “Well shite.” He muttered before trying a few different methods. He stabbed the ball of light to the same results. He tried swinging the knife faster but to no change in the light at all. “Hmm, my Array should be working, but there is no change at all? The Array works out, in theory anyway, but in practice not so much. Did I make it too specific or was I not specific enough?” The young Artificer wondered as he looked at the knife in his hand while pacing back and forth across the length of his workshop. Going back to his desk he set the knife down and pulled out his papers that he’d worked the Array out on. He started perusing the lines of Runes looking for what could have gone wrong. After almost an hour of not finding any reason for the lack of effect an alarm spell went off and Harry tapped his wand to cancel it.</p><p>“Time to meet with the study group already?” Harry mused as he placed his hands on top of his desk as he stood up. Feeling cold metal beneath his palm Harry looked down and saw his Oulm knife. “Good thing I worked in the Cut Prevention Sequence after all, that could have hurt otherwise.” He chuckled as he tapped the blade with his index finger. The sudden feeling of his finger getting the ‘pins and needles’ of being ‘asleep’ was a surprise and Harry narrowed his eyes while looking over his finger. “What in the world?” He wondered as he shook his hand and tried to flex his fingers. After a couple of attempts he got feeling back into his index finger and shook his hand. “Well, isn’t that interesting?” Harry questioned rhetorically to the empty workshop. Giving the ‘failed’ knife another look over Harry decided to look into it later. He’d agreed to meet with his study buddies today and he wanted to introduce Luna to them. The little blonde could definitely use more friends.</p><p>-The Library-</p><p>“Hello, Harry.” Luna smiled seeing Harry walk into the Library. He had asked her to meet him here at this time so she’d come, but she had no idea what it was Harry wanted.</p><p>“Hey Luna, thanks for meeting me.” Harry greeted as he motioned for Luna to follow him.</p><p>“So why did you want to meet in the Library, you asked me to bring my homework and books so I’m assuming we’re studying?” Luna questioned and Harry nodded.</p><p>“Yep, I also want to help you make a few more friends.” Harry replied and Luna looked curious.</p><p>“There are others that would like to be my friends? Who are they?” Luna inquired since she hadn’t made any friends besides Penny and Harry since she started at Hogwarts.</p><p>"Follow me and I’ll introduce you." Harry answered as he made his way over to the table his study buddies were currently occupying. "Hey Padma, Mandy, Hermione, how are you three this afternoon?"</p><p>"Hey Harry, doing good." Mandy replied with a grin.</p><p>“Studying for Transfiguration at the moment." Padma motioned towards their books.</p><p>“Good afternoon, Harry.” Hermione smiled before noticing Luna. “Who is this?”</p><p>"This is Luna Lovegood, she’s in Ravenclaw with Padma, Mandy and I." Harry introduced which prompted Padma and Mandy to greet the little blonde. "She's had a bit of difficulty making friends because she likes to talk about Magical Cryptids. But she’s sweet as can be and could really use a few more friends."</p><p>"It was really mean of those girls to take your things, Luna. Do you want to study with our little group?" Mandy asked even though she was already making a place for the First Year.</p><p>"We can help you out with anything you don’t understand." Padma assured Luna as she scooted over so that younger girl could sit between her and Mandy.</p><p>"We’d be happy to have you Luna.” Hermione agreed with a smile towards the First Year.</p><p>“Thank you very much.” Luna thanked the girls as she sat between Padma and Mandy and started taking out her things.</p><p>“Don’t mention it, Luna.” Mandy grinned as she pulled the other girl into a side-hug. Harry was pretty sure Luna couldn’t have looked happier if she tried. After a few minutes of getting settled Mandy asked everyone if they’d been using the Common Room Test Frames; when she got back all positive replies, except from Harry who simply used his own in his workshop, not that any of them knew that, she’d asked about their most recent readings.</p><p>“I checked this morning and was at ‘462’.” Padma informed the group.</p><p>“Bugger, you’re still beating me! I’m only at ‘456’ right now.” Mandy playfully pouted at her friend.</p><p>“I was at ‘470’ when I checked last night before bed.” Hermione spoke up and Padma and Mandy both playfully accused her of extra practice to one up them.</p><p>“I got a ‘138’ this morning before breakfast.” Luna smiled and the older girls gave her encouragement for her reading. All of them told her they could practice together and she’d definitely see her reading go up even higher. The little blonde quickly agreed to the extra practice with a bright smile.</p><p>“What?” Harry asked when all of the girls turned to look at him.</p><p>“What was your last reading?” Padma asked curiously.</p><p>“Oh, I was at ‘1,536’ when I checked a few days ago.” Harry replied and all the girls, except Luna who just smiled, had shocked looks on their faces.</p><p>“How the bloody hell?” Mandy questioned.</p><p>“Language!” Hermione chided her friend and Mandy barely acknowledged it.</p><p>“That is very impressive Harry.” Padma stated with a nod.</p><p>“I’ve just been practicing when I need a break from Enchanting.” Harry shrugged since he’d been trying to keep as even a balance between Wandless practice and Enchanting as he could. He’d Wandlessly completed a nifty new Charm yesterday called ‘Similitudo’ or the ‘Reflected Image’ Charm. It made an illusionary copy of the caster that mimicked all of the person’s actions, but in the opposite, just like a reflection in a mirror. To test it Harry had cast the spell and then walked towards a wall of his workshop. To his amusement the copy had walked in the opposite direction. He thought he might show this one to Tonks, since it could be useful for confusing a hostile Witch or Wizard.</p><p>“You’ve got to be cheating somehow.” Mandy playfully accused and Harry stuck his nose in the air and acted snooty to go along with it. It was an enjoyable study session and Harry could only smile when he saw how well Luna had been integrated into their little study group. It was nice to see the First Year laughing as she listened to Mandy make jokes.</p><p>-Halloween-</p><p>It was a lovely and festive feast to celebrate the holiday and Harry was having a good time. Penny had to constantly check on Luna to make sure the girl didn’t eat nothing but sweets for the whole feast. This made Harry chuckle as he let himself have an extra helping of treacle tart. The decorations were fabulous, just as they were last year and as long as no Trolls found their way into the castle, or were let in Harry reminded himself, then the evening would be great. There was even some music playing throughout the feast and Harry was curious if the songs were all traditional for the holiday. Once the food had disappeared and the students began making their way out of the Great Hall, Harry was fairly certain this would be a good Halloween.</p><p>“I shouldn’t have even thought it.” Harry grumbled lowly to himself as a large crowd of students gathered around a second floor bathroom that had apparently flooded. At least judging by the water all over the corridor and the bathroom door still having water pouring from under it.</p><p>What was the cause of the large congregation of students, one might ask?</p><p>Large words written on the stone wall of the corridor in what appeared to be blood. Plus Mrs. Norris, Caretaker Filch’s menace of a cat was hanging from a wall sconce completely immobile and the man was howling about his cat being ‘dead’.</p><p>“Enemies of the Heir, beware.” Draco Malfoy read off the wall before smirking. “You’ll be next Mudbloods.”</p><p>‘How the hell did he come to that conclusion?’ Harry wonder incredulously, trying to figure out Malfoy’s leap in logic. ‘It only states ‘enemies of the Heir’ and that could mean anyone that this person wants it to. For all he knows the ‘enemies’ could be anyone in the castle that isn’t related to Slytherin. That seems especially likely considering the fact they went out of their way to use the term Heir for themselves.’ Harry had found out about the so called ‘Chamber of Secrets’ last year in the Library when he’d been looking into the history of the Magical Castle. Suffice to say he wasn’t exactly impressed by Salazar Slytherin’s ideals, nor was he sure that the man was even sane considering he supposedly left a ‘monster’ of some kind hidden in his secret chamber to one day ‘purge’ the school of the ‘unworthy’. The arrival of the Professors saw the students quickly being ushered off to their House Common Rooms as the area was cleared.</p><p>“I think I can be certain that this is what Dobby was trying to warn me about.” Harry grimaced as he recalled the fear the little House Elf had shown back in the summer. He had a letter to write to Sirius tonight.</p><p>
  <strong>-End Chapter-</strong>
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  <strong>Well…some good…some bad…it’s been a heck of a chapter. Now with the Chamber opened how long before something bad happens? Will Lockhart make an ass of himself? Definitely. But Harry has sort of progressed towards his goal of an Artifact Sword, so there’s that. Also Penny is now one of the most feared, if not THE most feared Prefects in Hogwarts. Yay? Keep reading to find out what happens next!</strong>
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  <strong> <span class="u">Current Mana Levels</span> </strong>
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  <strong>Harry – 1,536</strong>
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  <strong>Tonks – 5,876 (Outdated)</strong>
</p><p><strong>Penelope – 4,762</strong> <strong> (Outdated)</strong></p><p>
  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
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<a name="section0014"><h2>14. History, Advancement, Questions</h2></a>
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  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Harry continues to progress, because he feels it’ll be required this year. Penny helps dig into the History of the Chamber. Questions need to be asked and answered after the next incident! </strong>
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  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
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  <strong>Chapter 14 – History, Advancement, Questions</strong>
</p><p>“So it’s been opened before?” Harry asked to confirm what Penny had just told him.</p><p>“Yes, about fifty years ago, in fact.” Penny nodded as they sat in the hidden workshop.</p><p>“So what does this mean in the here and now?” Harry questioned and Penny could only postulate.</p><p>“It could mean that whoever opened the Chamber fifty years ago has returned to the castle. Or perhaps the descendant of that person is a new student?” Penny shrugged as she mulled over possibilities.</p><p>“Neither option is particularly good.” Harry sighed while running a hand through his hair. “Though since we don’t have any new Staff, except that peacock, I don’t think the original perpetrator is back.”</p><p>“So it’s probably a student, maybe even a First Year.” Penny hummed in thought. “Not that suspecting this narrows it down any. We have almost forty new First Years this year.”</p><p>“Hopefully the Staff can deal with this quickly.” Harry hoped as he looked at the notes Penny had made about the last ‘Chamber of Secrets Incident’. “A student actually died last time. I would hope the Staff would close the school before it gets that bad again.”</p><p>“Why wouldn’t they?” Penny questioned. “The safety of the students should be their first priority as Professors.”</p><p>“Penny, even you know that the Magical World often lacks what most Non-Magicals would call ‘common sense’.” Harry replied flatly and Penny exhaled deeply before nodding.</p><p>“I’ll look into what this ‘monster’ could possibly be.” Penny informed Harry as she collected her notes. “Knowing Slytherin it’s probably some kind of Magical Serpent. Though it would have to be one that could either live for over a thousand years or be able to sustain a breeding population in an isolated space for the same amount of time.”</p><p>“That should at least narrow it down a bit, right?” Harry asked and Penny nodded.</p><p>“It should. Even Magical Species have lifespans; I’m not the most ‘learned’ in Care of Magical Creatures but surely there can’t be ‘that’ many Magical Snakes that fit these criteria.” Penny gave him a hopeful smile. Harry found it hard to put much hope into his return smile though. Shortly afterwards Penny left the workshop to head back to the Library. Harry set about Transmuting more Oulm, if there really was a monster being awoken from a fifty year slumber then having any advantage, even a Magical Knife, would be better than not having it. Plus he still needed to continue tests on his first ‘failure’. The effect it had on a person that touched the edge of the blade was ‘unexpected’ to say the least. Harry was already wondering if he might be able to turn his ‘failure’ into a ‘success’ with some time and a few changes.</p><p>-November 9<sup>th</sup>-</p><p>“Excuse me, but what?” Harry asked and Penny grimaced in return.</p><p>“There was an attack, a young Gryffindor boy, Creevey from what I hear.” Penny informed and Harry sat back at the Ravenclaw table in the Great Hall. There had been bits and pieces of the story flying around this morning and it seems that now, at lunch, the news had finally broken. The ‘Heir’ had apparently unleashed Slytherin’s ‘monster’ on the school.</p><p>“So Hogwarts is going to close, right?” Harry asked and Penny outright frowned before she replied.</p><p>“Apparently not, though I don’t know why, the Staff hasn’t mentioned closing the school or sending the students home.” Penny replied her pretty face twisted by her anger.</p><p>“You’re kidding…” Harry was shocked. A student had been attacked and petrified by an unknown assailant or monster and Hogwarts was just going to carry on like nothing happened? “What is wrong with these people?” Penny could only shrug angrily while forcing herself to eat.</p><p>“I’ve narrowed down the list of potential Magical Snakes, but with petrification being the results of the attacks I’m afraid this opens the door to other ‘monsters’ being the culprit.” Penny worried as she mentally went over her research. “No Magical Snake I’ve read about has the ability to petrify its victims.”</p><p>“I’m writing another letter to Sirius.” Harry stated as he finished his lunch. “The last reply I got Sirius told me that it could just be a prankster with horribly bad taste. Since it is right about the fiftieth anniversary of the last time the Chamber was opened. But this is an outright attack, I’m sure Sirius will be able to round up the parents of the students and get the Aurors involved.” Penny nodded and agreed to write her own letter to her parents. At the end of classes that day Harry left with a quick ‘goodbye’ to his study buddies. His only other comment was “I’ve got work to do.”</p><p>It so happened that on Wednesday the eleventh of November the Great Hall doors were opened just as breakfast was finishing up. The Staff were caught ‘flat-footed’ by the appearance of the large group of Witches and Wizards. Especially the large amount of Aurors present among them. A stern looking woman with red hair and a monocle marched forward leading the group. Harry was quick to spot Sirius among the group and Penny’s father as well. Though he’d only met the man briefly.</p><p>“Dumbledore we need to talk, immediately.” The stern witch in Auror robes informed the aged Headmaster.</p><p>“Of course, Amelia, if you would all kindly follow me to the antechamber.” Dumbledore agreed as he stood from his chair and led the large group through a door off to the side of the Head Table. The large group steadily made their way into the room until the Great Hall was only filled with students and the Staff that weren’t Heads of House.</p><p>“Well that worked better than I thought it would.” Harry grinned and Penny gave him a side hug with a smile on her face. Later that day Sirius got to meet with Harry and Penny’s father, Edward Clearwater, was with him since Penny was with Harry. The two adults explained what had gone on in the antechamber, besides a lot of yelling, and both Harry and Penny were less than thrilled with the results.</p><p>“What do you mean Hogwarts is staying open?” Penny questioned incredulously.</p><p>“Dumbledore and Amelia argued back and forth about it for quite a while.” Edward shook his head. “But Dumbledore argued against closing the school and Amelia forced him to accept Aurors being stationed at Hogwarts.”</p><p>“Aurors might help, but wouldn’t it be safer to just close the school?” Harry questioned and both Sirius and Edward looked like they agreed.</p><p>“Amelia only agreed to the school remaining open so that the Aurors can search every student’s belongings for illegal Magic Items, especially ones that could petrify a person. If they find said item among a student’s things that student will be expelled on the spot and criminal charges will be filed.” Sirius informed them.</p><p>“This is still ridiculous.” Harry grumbled aggravated with the lack of sense being shown.</p><p>“We agree, but Dumbledore has a lot of influence in Magical Britain.” Edward groused as he pulled his daughter into a hug. Sirius was quick to do the same while also passing Harry a small mirror.</p><p>“What’s this?” Harry questioned looking the plain object over.</p><p>“One of the Marauder’s best accomplishments.” Sirius grinned proudly. “A Communication Mirror!”</p><p>“A what?” Harry asked and Sirius was happy to tell the story of how the pair of mirrors came to be. It seemed it was mostly Lupin’s work with some minor inputs from Sirius and Harry’s father, James.</p><p>“Why didn’t you make more?” Penny questioned as she looked the item over. “Something like this could have made a fortune.” Harry was also interested in the answer to Penny’s question and looked at Sirius expectantly.</p><p>“Well…actually.” Sirius rubbed the back of his head and sighed. “It was complete luck that it worked at all.”</p><p>“What’s that mean?” Harry inquired and Sirius went on to explain that the Marauders had gone through well over a hundred mirrors to eventually make the pair that worked. But even Remus didn’t know why the pair worked out. They’d attempted to re-create the mirrors dozens of times but even with the same Enchantments and Charms, no other pair ever worked out.</p><p>“I see.” Penny replied as she stared at the mirror in her hands. “A pity, it could’ve revolutionized Magical Communication.”</p><p>“Do you think Moony still has the notes for this?” Harry asked staring at the second mirror in his hands with a near manic gleam of curiosity and interest in his eyes. They almost appeared to be glowing with how intensely Harry was staring at the mirror in his hands.</p><p>“Knowing Moony, probably?” Sirius nodded with a small shrug. “He’s a meticulous note keeper. He probably still has them stashed away with his old school things.”</p><p>“Can you ask him to send me a copy of them?” Harry requested as he looked the mirror over. “This sounds like a worthwhile challenge.” The young Artificer grinned as he had several thoughts and theories already flying around his head.</p><p>“Sure thing, Harry.” Sirius laughed at the look on his Godson’s face. That gleam in his eyes was always followed by some kind of creation of Harry’s. Though even Sirius was curious if his Godson could crack the mystery of the Communication Mirrors. Sirius took back one mirror and told Harry to keep the other, in case of emergency. Should anything else happen; Harry was to contact Sirius with the mirror and inform him of it. If Sirius was called he’d make sure to come to Hogwarts and retrieve Harry with all haste. Regardless of whether or not Hogwarts was closing. Several minutes later and the adults had left while Harry and Penny went to practice their Wandless Magic in the hidden workshop.</p><p>Many students were rounded up and punished when the Aurors’ search turned up items that were banned in the school. Only two were Dark Items, from two Seventh Year Slytherins, the rest mostly being alcohol like Fire Whiskey. Other than that nothing else was uncovered and classes resumed as normal for the most part. Aurors patrolled the halls at night instead of Prefects and the red robed Wizards and Witches were stationed around the castle at strategic positions. There hadn’t been another attack since Colin Creevey; the First Year had been treated with a Mandrake Draught that had been brought in from St. Mungos. When questioned about what he’d seen, the boy had only been able to recall seeing a large pair of yellow eyes through his camera and then waking up in the Hospital Wing.</p><p>“Yellow eyes don’t help narrow it down much.” Penny groaned as she was looking through multiple tomes about Magical Creatures. A petrifying gaze was a rare trait even among the multitudes of Magical Beasts in the world. But Penny couldn’t find any creature capable of living a thousand years or breeding successfully in isolation for the same length of time that also had said gaze.</p><p>“Maybe it’s a hybrid?” Harry mused as he was waiting for the Circuit Base lines to cool on his second prototype knife. “Slytherin doesn’t come off as entirely sane to me from what I’ve read.”</p><p>“That means it could be almost anything though.” Penny almost whined. “Magical Creature breeding can happen between species that have no relation to each other at all; as long as very specific conditions are met at least.”</p><p>“Maybe we should ask Hagrid?” Harry pondered; the gentle giant was a fount of knowledge when it came to Magical Creatures after all.</p><p>“It couldn’t hurt.” Penny agreed as she watched Harry pick up his new knife.</p><p>“Just let me run a few tests with this first.” Harry grinned as he produced a Lumos Charm. A second later and the Artificer swiped the blade of the knife through the ball of light. The light noticeably shrank and got dimmer, but still remained. “Progress!” Harry cheered as he looked at the light.</p><p>“Congratulations, Harry!” Penny clapped for him.</p><p>“Let’s try it again, how many swings until the Lumos Charm is extinguished?” Harry wondered as he passed the blade through the light again. This time though, nothing changed about the Charm. “What?” Harry asked confused. He swiped through the light a few more times with no results. “Why isn’t it working?” He muttered to himself before looking over the knife.</p><p>“Something wrong, Harry?” Penny asked.</p><p>“WHAT THE HELL?!” Harry shouted and Penny started and almost fell out of her chair.</p><p>“What? What happened?!” Penny asked a second later as she tried to calm her heart rate.</p><p>“It’s inert! Completely inert!” Harry stated loudly a look of confusion on his face.</p><p>“What do you mean?” Penny asked as she stood from her chair and walked over to him.</p><p>“The knife, it’s not Magical anymore, it’s just a chunk of inert metal alloy in the shape of a knife.” Harry replied as he showed her the prototype. Even to Penny’s untrained eyes the knife just looked…dull, for lack of a better term.</p><p>“What happened to it?” Penny questioned curiously. Harry shook his head before he started looking over it more thoroughly.</p><p>“It burned out.” Harry spoke up a minute later. “The Array and the Circuit Base lines, all of them are blackened.”</p><p>“So it just…broke?” Penny asked and got a nod from Harry.</p><p>“That’s basically it.” Harry sighed heavily. “The Array was too much for the material. One use and it burned out the Oulm. It didn’t even disperse the Lumos Charm and it still burned out.”</p><p>“But it weakened it…that’s still progress right?” Penny encouraged and Harry smiled at the blonde.</p><p>“Yeah, it’s still progress. Just need a better Magical Metal as the base. What I wouldn’t do for some Orichalcum. But Alchemists are very rarely willing to part with any they make. The stuff that’s on the market costs way too much because of it. Not to mention the stories you hear about low-grade Orichalcum. It’s almost like fool’s gold. It looks like what you want, but in the end it’s pretty much worthless.” Harry sighed as he thought about it.</p><p>“Maybe take a break and work on something else?” Penny suggested. “You said the first prototype might have another use if you can work it out. Plus that new Trinket you’ve been working on seems interesting.” Harry nodded as he turned to the first ‘failed’ prototype and the host of small metal discs that were strewn across another table in the workshop. Walking over Harry looked through the papers on the discs while Penny looked over the Trinkets.</p><p>“With all the Aurors here I got a few ideas to potentially make their jobs a bit easier.” Harry admitted as he sat down and moved one of the discs in front of him. “If I can work out the ‘failed’ knife’s Array and give it a different Form, I might have my first Professional customer with the Auror department.”</p><p>“What about the discs?” Penny asked while looking at them and seeing the lines of Runes on them.</p><p>“One time use Trinkets, they’re meant to burn out as part of their activation.” Harry remarked as he held the disc in front of him. “I’ve basically put the Runic Form of about a dozen different ‘Dispelling’ Charms on them. Place them on a Warded Object, like a door or building, and then activate them and they should, in theory anyway, break the Ward. Though to be honest it might only be temporary for large-scale Warded areas like Family Manors or the Ministry.”</p><p>“That would still be a great help to the Aurors, Harry.” Penny praised the Artificer. “A lot of times criminals are able to escape because they Ward their hiding places and the Aurors are forced to determine what Wards are in place and then they have to break them. The criminals usually have enough time to escape before the Aurors get passed the Wards.”</p><p>“Yeah, I remember Tonks telling us about that. She’s kind of the reason I want to make this stuff to begin with. I want to make her job easier and if possible I want her to be safer.” Harry mused, his face set in a fond grin as he thought about the bubbly Metamorph. Penny smiled at Harry for his thoughtfulness; trust the young Artificer to be thinking about those close to him when he decided to pursue a completely new topic of research.</p><p>“If you want we can go see Hagrid later.” Penny offered and Harry shook his head.</p><p>“Nah, we should at least ask him about the hybrid possibility. If anyone at Hogwarts would know it would probably be him.” Harry nodded as he stood up and followed Penny out of the hidden workshop. The pair made their way through the castle and across the grounds unimpeded. Knocking on the door to the large wooden hut led to the barking of Fang, which Harry was used to from his occasional visits.</p><p>“Fang, back! Back you ruddy coward!” Hagrid hollered from inside and the door opened to show the large, hairy man.</p><p>“Harry, Penny great ter see ya!” Hagrid greeted as he smiled at the pair. “Come in. come in. Bit chilly ter be standing outside.” The pair entered the warm, cozy hut and sat at the large table. Fang was quick to place his large head in Penny’s lap and get his ears scratched by the blonde.</p><p>“Hagrid we were wondering about what Colin Creevey said about what he saw when he was petrified.” Harry started and Hagrid sat down with a kettle of tea prepared.</p><p>“I’ve been looking into what Slytherin’s Monster could potentially be but, as you no doubt know, a petrifying gaze is a very rare trait. Then Harry brought up the idea that the monster may be some kind of hybrid. So we thought we’d come talk to you about the possibility since you know so much about Magical Creatures.” Penny informed the giant man of the situation.</p><p>“Aww, yer two are gonna make me blush.” Hagrid smiled brightly at them for the praise to his knowledge.</p><p>“Well it’s true.” Harry smiled at his large friend. “Any ideas on a potential hybrid that could have a petrifying gaze and still be some kind of Magical Snake?”</p><p>“Hrmm, that’s a difficult question.” Hagrid mumbled. “Breedin’ two different creatures together doesn’t always result in what ye might be wanting. Only a few creatures have a gaze like that. To cross it with a Magical Snake would be difficult.” He mused with a thoughtful look on his face. “One of the only Magical Snakes to have a Magical Ability related to its eyes is the Basilisk, but a single look from them kills instead of petrifies.”</p><p>“Could it be some kind of hybrid of a Basilisk and another Magical Snake?” Penny questioned and Hagrid looked deep in thought.</p><p>“That’d be possible, but very difficult.” Hagrid spoke while thinking. “Slytherin was a Parselmouth though; he could have potentially talked two different snakes into breedin’.”</p><p>“Basilisks are classified as Class Five Magical Creatures, Wizard Killers, aren’t they? A single Basilisk would be a horrifying monster to stash away. But how would this ‘Heir’ keep it from killing them with a look?” Harry wondered.</p><p>“A good question, Harry.” Hagrid nodded. “My pet Aragog was blamed for the death of poor Myrtle back when the Chamber was last opened, but Aragog never hurt no one.”</p><p>“Aragog?” Penny questioned and Harry was almost afraid to ask.</p><p>“My pet Acromantula. Misunderstood creatures they are, they’re intelligent when raised by people.” Hagrid explained and both Harry and Penny paled.</p><p>“So they killed Aragog for the death of the student?” Harry asked and Hagrid shook his head.</p><p>“No, Aragog lives in the Forbidden Forest with his family.” Hagrid informed them. “He was so lonely that I got him a wife a few years later.”</p><p>“Hagrid, Acromantulas are illegal to keep without a license.” Penny stated and Hagrid nodded.</p><p>“I don’t keep them; they just live in the forest. S’long as Aragog is alive they won’t leave the forest or hurt nobody.” Hagrid assured but that didn’t make Harry or Penny feel any better.</p><p>“So we’re still not sure what kind of beast Slytherin left in the chamber.” Harry tried to get the conversation back on topic. “Just that it can petrify with its gaze, has bright yellow eyes, and is possibly a hybrid of Magical Snake. None of which helps us identify it.”</p><p>“There are just too many possibilities.” Hagrid apologized while shaking his head. Penny and Harry stayed to chat with the Groundskeeper for a while longer. They found out that Hagrid had been expelled the last time the Chamber had been opened and Aragog had indeed been blamed for the death of the student, Myrtle.</p><p>“We should probably look into Basilisks, just in case.” Penny commented as she and Harry walked back up to the castle.</p><p>“Agreed, it seems like this could be some hybrid or offshoot of a Basilisk.” Harry nodded as they entered the castle. “I’ll need to keep working, even if it isn’t much, it’ll be better to have something than nothing if the monster finds us.”</p><p>“I’m sure the Aurors will be able to prevent more attacks, Harry, at least I hope so.” Penny replied as she noticed the ones in the entryway.</p><p>“What’s this?” Harry questioned as he saw a large piece of parchment on the door of the Great Hall. Penny and Harry both read the parchment and Harry groaned afterwards.</p><p>“It’s not the worst idea, Harry.” Penny tried to comfort him.</p><p>“It is if that peacock is the one ‘attempting’ to teach or head it.” Harry groused. The parchment was informing the student body of the upcoming ‘Dueling Club’ that Professor Lockhart was going to start up in December. The absolute joke of a Wizard, in Harry’s opinion, was just going to use this to try and make a spectacle of himself. That much Harry knew already but Penny seemed to want to at least ‘sit in’ on it to look out for the younger students.</p><p>“We’ll just watch, Harry.” Penny stated with a small smile.</p><p>“Fine, but I already know that pompous windbag is going to be a joke.” Harry sighed as he agreed to check out the ‘Dueling Club’ when it started.</p><p>“Well, then how about we get some more Wandless practice in and really show them how to be prepared?” Penny questioned with a raised eyebrow. Harry distinctly felt like he was being challenged by his Prefect friend.</p><p>“Is that a challenge I hear in your tone, Prefect Clearwater?” Harry asked as he cocked his own eyebrow.</p><p>“Maybe it was, maybe it was.” Penny giggled as she and Harry made their way towards the hidden workshop to practice.</p><p>“I’ve learned a new Charm or two that should serve me well.” Harry grinned as they walked along.</p><p>“You don’t say…” Penny smiled. “So have I.”</p><p>“We’ll see who is learning the best in a bit then.” Harry chuckled.</p><p>“Fair warning, my mana was at ‘4,890’ yesterday morning.” Penny smiled pleasantly.</p><p>“Skill can triumph over power.” Harry replied evenly. ‘She’s at ‘4,890’? I was at ‘1,610’ this morning. How long will it take me to catch up?’ He thought to himself as they made their way into the workshop again. Looking over at his worktable and the various sheets of notes and Runic Sequences, Harry confirmed to himself that he was going to try and make the next push in his Alchemy soon.</p><p>“Ready yet, Harry?” Penny questioned as she stretched a bit to limber up for their duel.</p><p>“Yeah, just give me a few moments to stretch.” Harry replied as he tore his eyes away from his worktable. ‘Sylvuan is harder to transmute, but it’s much more durable than Oulm. It has higher Magic Concentration as well, so maybe it can hold the Array properly?’ He mused as he went through some stretches. ‘I’d like to have an actual prototype sword by the end of the school year if possible.’</p><p>“Are you ready?” Penny asked as she raised her right hand.</p><p>“Any time, Penny.” Harry replied with far more confidence than he felt about this duel.</p><p>“You should work on your ‘poker face’ Harry.” Penny laughed as she launched the first spell, a Flipendo, of the duel.</p><p>“Noted.” Harry replied as he smacked the Flipendo aside and breathed out the large plume of smoke from the ‘Fluctus Fumus’ spell, then brought up a Protego to block Penny’s next spell. At least his mana would probably increase a little after he ran himself ragged trying to keep up with Penny’s much larger reserves.</p><p>
  <strong>-End Chapter-</strong>
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  <strong>Well Harry’s ‘common sense’ has led to the proper authorities making moves against the ‘Heir’ right off the bat. How will that affect the story? Will the Basilisk be unleashed again? If so who will be the next victim? Will someone else die this time around? We’ll find out. Also Harry has made some progress! Then went back a half-step when the progress also failed, right after succeeding! Argh, the frustration of a Craftsman/Inventor! Will Harry succeed in making a prototype sword by the end of the year? Will Lockhart make a show of himself at the ‘Dueling Club’? Yes…of course. What will Harry make of the Communication Mirror? So many things are happening and we’re not even halfway through the Year! Poor Harry…he just can’t have a simple school year.</strong>
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  <strong> <span class="u">Current Mana Levels</span> </strong>
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  <strong>Harry – 1,610</strong>
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  <strong>Tonks – 5,876 (Outdated)</strong>
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  <strong>Penelope – 4,890</strong>
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  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
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<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Dueling Club, More Prototypes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
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  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! The Dueling Club takes place. Harry makes a bit more progress. Another attack? </strong>
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  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
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  <strong>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-</strong>
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  <strong>Chapter 15 – Dueling Club, More Prototypes</strong>
</p><p>“This is so stupid.” Harry sighed as he watched the blonde peacock make a spectacle of himself.</p><p>“It’s a bit much.” Penny agreed as she watched Lockhart on top of the Dueling Platform. The Defense Professor was going on about his skills and accomplishments before having Professor Snape of all people join him on the platform for a demonstration.</p><p>“A Galleon says that Snape wins.” Harry offered dully and Penny turned her head slightly to look at him out of the corner of her eye.</p><p>“Sucker’s bet.” Penny flatly replied and Harry shrugged before they both refocused on the ‘Duel’ that was about to start. It was over in a single spell, ‘Expelliarmus’, from Snape. Lockhart lost his wand and was sent tumbling onto the platform. Harry rolled his eyes as the pompous blonde picked himself up and then tried to act like he’d ‘let’ Snape disarm him.</p><p>“Now, let’s have our first student pair try Dueling.” Lockhart announced before he quickly locked onto Harry. “Mr. Potter, please come up to the platform!”</p><p>“Do I have to?” Harry muttered to Penny who gave him a commiserating look before nudging him gently. “Fine…” He huffed as he made his way up to the platform and took his place. Snape, for some reason, had chosen Draco to be Harry’s opponent. The two Second Years met in the middle of the platform, as per tradition, to exchange a pre-duel dialogue. Or, in Harry’s view, a traditional excuse for ‘talking shite’.</p><p>“Scared Potter?” Draco asked with a self-assured smirk.</p><p>“Bored actually.” Harry replied and was mildly amused to see Draco’s face turn red. The two then turned from each other and walked to their respective ends of the platform.</p><p>“I’ll count down from three; when I get to one you may begin!” Lockhart announced, though the man seemed to be enjoying the attention he was receiving more than he was paying attention to the ‘duel’. “Three…two…one!”</p><p>“Everte Statum!” Draco called as he cast a wave of white magic towards Harry. The spell harmlessly splashed against the Protego that was suddenly in front of Harry. The young Artificer looked the very picture of bored while everyone there, except for a few that had seen his Wandless Magic in person before, stared wide eyed and with jaws dropped.</p><p>“Simple enough.” Harry stated before Draco found his wand wrenched from his grip and flying into Harry’s hand. “I believe I win.” Snape looked like he’d swallowed a lemon while everyone else just stared for a bit. It wasn’t until Penny started clapping that the moment was broken and all the students, barring a few Slytherins, started to clap and cheer.</p><p>“But…how?” Draco muttered as he looked at his wand in Harry’s hand.</p><p>“Wandless Summoning Charm.” Harry informed the blonde before handing the wand back to the other boy. Harry was about to step off the platform when Penny stepped onto Draco’s vacated spot. “Penny?”</p><p>“I kind of want to show off since you got to.” Penny smiled and Harry nodded. Internally the Artificer was already grumbling though. Penny wanted to show everyone a copy of their practice sessions, which usually involved a defeated Harry sitting or lying on the floor trying to catch his breath. All the while Penny would be only moderately winded and would have a grin on her face.</p><p>“I get the feeling this has an ulterior motive.” Harry stated as the two met in the middle of the platform.</p><p>“Can’t have you getting a big head now, can we?” Penny smiled pleasantly as the two turned and made their way to the designated positions. Harry rolled his eyes with a sigh before turning to face Penny.</p><p>“Right then, uh, three…two…one!” Lockhart counted down again, startled at losing control of the course of the Club. Harry instantly fired off a Flipendo at Penny and the blonde only covered her hand in what looked like a localized Protego, before she smacked the Jinx away into the ceiling.</p><p>“Are you even trying?” Penny asked with a flat look at Harry. The boy was given no time to respond before four fireballs materialized around Penny and were sent screaming down the platform towards him. Harry snapped into the full-focus he’d developed in the many practice sessions he’d had with Penny and Tonks. Water formed around Harry, a Wandless Aguamenti Charm, before rapidly swirling around into a thick wall in front of him. The fireballs snuffed out when they came in contact with the water, each releasing small gouts of steam. Harry lashed his conjured water forward like a whip towards Penny. The Prefect smiled brightly; apparently glad to see he was taking this more seriously now, before using Finite on the conjured water.</p><p>“Well that wasn’t nice.” Harry snarked at her when his water vanished.</p><p>“Neither is this!” Penny retorted as six fireballs materialized and went rocketing towards Harry. A Protego appeared in front of Harry taking all six fireballs before being dispersed and Harry grinned at Penny, he couldn’t help but start getting into this a bit. It was so much like their regular practice sessions that he’d already tuned out the gawking crowd. Though a small part of Harry’s brain noted that Lockhart seemed to be the biggest gawker of them all.</p><p>“This straight platform is kind of ridiculous, traditional though it may be.” Harry commented as he built up a spell.</p><p>“Dueling is an art as well as a dispute settler, Harry.” Penny replied. “It’s not truly the same as a Magical Battle between Spellcasters.”</p><p>“True enough, I guess.” Harry shrugged before inhaling deeply. Nobody in the Great Hall was expecting what Harry did next. It would actually be talked about for years to come at Hogwarts. The Second Year threw his head forward and exhaled a blast of fire not unlike a Dragon towards Penny. Lockhart literally threw himself from the platform and landed in a heap on the stone floor of the Hall. Penny, in contrast, appeared only slightly surprised before grinning and raising both her arms high above her head. The dueling platform cracked and a large section of it came up and turned ninety degrees to act as a shield for Penny.</p><p>“Careful Harry, I might think you’re actually trying to harm me!” Penny playfully accused her friend. The fire died down quickly enough and Penny let the platform drop back into place. It was still charred and broken, of course, but it was at least back in the area it had come from.</p><p>“Says the girl that was lobbing fireballs at me not even a minute ago?” Harry questioned. “I thought you just wanted to play with fire?”</p><p>“Try some of my new Spellcraft, Harry.” Penny grinned before swinging her right arm upwards towards the ceiling. A sudden, powerful wind began to blow and dust was picked up from the stone of the Great Hall floor. Students shrieked or yelled as their robes billowed about in the gale. Harry quickly saw the point of this particular spell.</p><p>“Did you just make a miniature pseudo-sandstorm?!” Harry exclaimed as he performed the ‘Impervious’ Charm on his own face. Difficult to do to be sure, but still possible if one understood the spell and how to apply it.</p><p>“I call it ‘Sand Veils All’, do you like it?” Penny asked through the wind and the dust.</p><p>“Wait a minute, are you saying this is an Original Spell?!” Harry asked in surprise. He didn’t know Penny was that far into Arithmancy!</p><p>“Yes, though it is based off of two other Charms.” Penny was grinning, though no one could actually see it through her spell.</p><p>“Very impressive Penny!” Harry praised her genuinely. “Maybe you can teach me sometime?” He questioned with a laugh of his own.</p><p>“If you’re good.” Penny teased and Harry felt his eye twitch at the ‘mothering’ tone. “Catch.”</p><p>“Catch?” Harry repeated before he threw up two Protego shields at the same time, his eyes wide as small balls of compact sand pelted the double-layered shield. Did she just…? ‘You’re truly amazing Penny.’ Harry thought to himself as he analyzed what his friend had just done. Her ‘Sand Veils All’ was a spell that could, itself, be used as a medium to cast other spells! That took not only great focus and considerable power, but the very ability to use it that way had to be worked into the original spell to begin with.</p><p>“You can’t keep your Protego up forever, Harry!” Penny chimed as she continued to pelt his shields with ‘Sand Bullets’.</p><p>“STOP!” Harry exclaimed as he released the widest ranged ‘Immobulus’ Charm he could. The sand in the air between him and Penny instantly froze in the air. Harry dropped his double Protego and slammed his hands together in a loud clap. All the static dust in the air was drawn into one point in space and began to pile up and compress. In less than five seconds a large rock of compressed particulates was floating a few meters in front of Harry. “Now you catch!” He laughed as he launched the hefty stone at Penny.</p><p>“Sure.” Penny smiled at the oncoming stone, before said stone stopped midair and then smashed into the ground. A small flame appeared above Penny’s upturned palm and quickly grew into a beach ball sized fireball.</p><p>“Are you trying to be some kind of Elementalist, or just a Pyromancer that dabbles in other spells?” Harry teased the blonde as he conjured water again and had it flow before him in a whirling shield.</p><p>“I believe that’s enough.” Professor Flitwick intoned vanishing both Penny’s fireball and Harry’s water shield with a simple flick of his wand. The two finally realized that the rest of the ‘Dueling Club’ had backed away from the platform and were now closer to the walls of the Great Hall. Quickly coming to the understanding that they’d gotten a bit out of hand the two apologized to their Head of House.</p><p>“Sorry Professor.” Penny and Harry apologized as they gave short bows to their Professor.</p><p>“Quite alright students.” Flitwick nodded back before beaming at the both of them. “I must say though; bravo Ms. Clearwater and Mr. Potter! I haven’t seen Dueling like that in years! I’ve never seen it done Wandlessly and Silently as well; especially not when both participants haven’t even graduated yet! Bravo, bravo! Good show both of you!” The Charms Master applauded and Penny and Harry both accepted his praise, it was saying a lot coming from such a respected Professional Duelist after all.</p><p>With a few flicks of his wand Flitwick had repaired the dueling platform and seamlessly taken control of the Dueling Club. Lockhart had tried to interject but all of the students had seen the man throw himself off the platform and land in an undignified heap. Platform repaired Flitwick took over instruction of the Club and set up pairs of students to practice with each other. Harry had to admit, with a competent instructor like Flitwick, the Dueling Club was actually interesting. As the students were waiting their turns to duel Harry and Penny became the center of attention for many of their peers.</p><p>“Harry!” Hermione called out as she stood before the two. “You really can use Wandless Magic! I thought people were just exaggerating!”</p><p>“That was awesome!” Mandy cheered as she looked between her two Housemates.</p><p>“I thought your original spell was amazing, Penny!” Padma gushed to the Prefect.</p><p>“It was fun!” Luna smiled at them both, a look of excitement on her face.</p><p>“Thank you.” Penny smiled at the younger girls. Harry nodded to them as well with a small smile.</p><p>“Can you teach me how to use Wandless Magic Harry?” Hermione asked her eyes gleaming with the desire for new knowledge. Nobody seemed to notice the twitch on Penny’s face when she heard Hermione ask that.</p><p>“Sorry, Hermione, Potter Family Secret.” Harry replied as he held his hands up.</p><p>“What does that mean?” Hermione inquired looking genuinely confused.</p><p>“It means only members of the Potter Family will be taught how to perform Wandless Magic, you dumb Mudblood.” Draco snarked at Hermione from outside of their group’s little ‘huddle’. It didn’t escape Harry’s notice that the blonde was close enough to be able to overhear if Harry had actually started explaining it. Too bad for him that Harry’s pronouncement of it as a Family Secret meant it would be seen as Theft of Magic in the eyes of the Law. No Magical House wanted to even be accused of that crime, much less actually charged or convicted. You’d be run out of the Magical Community faster than you could say ‘Nox’.</p><p>“Malfoy! Get out of here you bigoted ponce!” Mandy yelled at the Slytherin. Draco scoffed at them all as he walked away and went to mingle with his own Housemates. “He’s such a prat!”</p><p>“Wait…” Hermione started; her face in its ‘thinking’ look. “If it’s a Potter Family Secret…then why does Penny know how to do it?” All of the girls turned to look at the Prefect and the older girl looked between all of them with a neutral expression.</p><p>“Because I taught her how.” Harry spoke up diverting all attention from Penny and onto him. “I wanted to be able to teach it to any potential future children. Tonks and Penny wanted to learn and they’re my oldest friends and they’ve both promised not to teach it to anyone. That’s how they know.”</p><p>“Are you two Betrothed?” Luna asked innocently curious. Penny’s and Harry’s eyes went wide at the question. Mandy saw their reactions and a teasing smile made its way onto her face.</p><p>“Mandy…don’t.” Padma placed her hand on her friend’s shoulder before she could speak. Padma was very familiar with Mandy’s playful nature.</p><p>“Aww, spoilsport!” Mandy pouted at Padma, but the Indian Witch wouldn’t be swayed.</p><p>“Oh…oh my…” Hermione uttered as she quickly put the ‘pieces’ together. “I-I see, to learn you have to be or ‘become’ a member of the Potter Family. Please forgive my rudeness, Harry.” Hermione’s face was a luminous red at the moment.</p><p>“Hermione…it isn’t like…‘that’.” Harry tried to explain. Penny wasn’t much help as she was almost refusing to make eye contact with anyone at the moment. The rest of the first Dueling Club meeting passed with few comments, but there was a lot of ‘knowing’ looks from Mandy and Luna simply smiled serenely at Harry and Penny. If Luna wasn’t such a sweetheart, Harry would almost think she was doing it on purpose.</p><p>-The Next Weekend-</p><p>“Ok…let’s go down the list.” Harry muttered to himself as he prepared to take his Alchemy just a bit further. “Silver, check. Powdered Dragon Bone, check. Iron, check. Cobalt, check. Powdered Quartz, check. That’s everything I need.”</p><p>It was time to try and transmute Sylvuan. This Alchemic Metal was a step up from Oulm and a bit harder to make. Not to mention the cost of using Silver as a base material. But Sirius was all for supporting Harry’s Enchanting and so a small fraction of the Black Family Fortune was set aside for Harry by his Godfather. Harry vowed he’d make Sirius’ ‘investment’ worth the man’s while someday.</p><p>“Okay, second Transmutation Circle plate, set up. Now measure out the materials, I need five hundred grams of each metal and three hundred seventy five grams each of both powdered dragon bone and powdered quartz crystal. Harry was going to attempt multiple transmutations today in hopes of getting more samples of viable Sylvuan to try and forge with. After measuring out his ingredients Harry placed the first set onto the Transmutation Circle plate and poured his mana into the Alchemic Array. The Transmutation Circle began to glow a bright blue as Harry’s mana filled it. After a few seconds the materials all began to glow and slowly merge together. Small sparks of magical discharge came from the materials as they were transmuted into a new combined state and when the process finished Harry pulled his hands away from the plate. The newly transmuted metal was giving off small bits of light that floated about like dust particles. All in all the process seemed to be the same as it was for Oulm, just with more material, and a good amount more mana from Harry’s end. At least three times more mana went into transmuting Sylvuan than Oulm.</p><p>After the glowing of the metal stopped Harry removed the silvery-blue metal and looked it over. It had the color the book mentioned so that was already a good sign. The true test would be its reaction to mana. Harry poured a bit of his mana into the ingot of ‘hopefully’ Sylvuan and kept it up for several seconds. The moment the metal glowed, making the blueish silver metal shine even more, Harry beamed at the success of his transmutation.</p><p>“Yeah!” Harry cheered as he held up the ingot of Sylvuan. “I did it!” After he calmed down a minute later he was very glad no one had been in the workshop with him to see that. It would’ve somehow found its way back to Tonks and he’d be teased about it for who knows how long. Having had one success the young Artificer prepared to transmute the rest of his materials. After that he would test out two different ideas with his next prototypes.</p><p>It had become clear to Harry that Circuit Base wasn’t going to cut it for the Runic Array he wanted his Artifact Sword to hold. So now he had two different paths to consider. One involved moving up the Circuit formula and creating something both more ‘powerful’ and much more expensive. Vitris Auri was a much better Runic Circuit material than Circuit Base. The only problem was making it and the cost of materials. Vitris Auri just so happened to have Gold as its base material. So the cost was going to be high for a potential failure. His other idea was to use Oulm as the Circuit Material and use the Magical Metal’s transference properties while leaving the actual ‘handling’ of the Runic Array to the much stronger Sylvuan. Both had their own merits and ‘theoretically’ both had a chance at success.</p><p>“Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Harry mused as he set about transmuting more Sylvuan ingots. He only had a few days left before he went back to Wood End Cottage for Yule Break. He wanted to have the prototypes at least made, even if not tested, before then. Seven more transmutations left Harry with eight viable ingots of Sylvuan. He was happy that he hadn’t messed any of them up since you couldn’t get the Silver back from Sylvuan without a very specific form of Alchemy that dealt with the ‘Breakdown and Separation’ of Magical Compounds. Harry didn’t have access to such specific, and complex, Alchemy so the simple fact he hadn’t screwed up was a relief.</p><p>“Now to the forge.” Harry thought aloud as he gathered up the ingots and moved into the smithy. Getting the fire going Harry waited until the heat was at the right temperature and placed the first ingot within the forge. Once the metal was a yellowish-red he used metal tongs to pull it out and take it over to his anvil. Harry poured his mana into the hammer with every swing. The ping of metal striking metal became the only sound in the hidden workshop for the next several hours. Harry would later be reprimanded for missing lunch and almost being late for dinner by Penny; after said Prefect almost beat down the door to the workshop to get Harry’s attention.</p><p>-The Next Day-</p><p>“I’m just making sure you don’t stay in here all day and miss meals.” Penny informed Harry as she sat down at the ‘Study Area’ of the hidden workshop.</p><p>“I said it was an accident.” Harry huffed as he pulled out his Alchemy supplies. The eight ingots of Sylvuan had all been forged into knives, or the shape of knives at least since none of them had an edge yet, and were waiting to be etched with Runic Arrays and Circuit Lines. Etching only took about an hour thanks to the Alchemic Rune Kit Tonks had gifted to him last Christmas. The etching tool was actually made of Adamantite! There was no Magical Metal stronger in the entire world, so it easily etched other metals including Magical ones. Pulling his Alchemy Book closer Harry went over the steps of making Vitris Auri again and set about attempting to make the Magical Material.</p><p>“One hundred grams of Gold, eighty grams of powdered Quartz, twenty grams of dried Ugi Grass stabilizer. Melt the Gold first; pour mana into the liquefied metal as you add the Quartz and the stabilizer. Continue to supply mana as you stir the compound. After stirring for three minutes to even out the contents then you transmute it with Transmutation Circle plate number three.” Harry spoke out the directions as he slowly performed them. Penny smiled fondly at him from where she was sitting and going over her homework. She’d bet that he didn’t even realize he started speaking when he got wrapped up in his Enchanting. She found it rather adorable to be honest.</p><p>The blue glow of the Transmutation Circle lit up part of the workshop for just under a minute before Harry finished the final step of making Vitris Auri. The new Circuit Compound was still liquid in its vessel and Harry left it on the magical equivalent of a Bunsen burner he’d found in a supply closet in an abandoned classroom to keep it warm. Filling his Alchemic Pen with the golden material Harry carefully and precisely set about filling in the Runic Array and Circuit Lines of the first Sylvuan prototype. Almost thirty minutes later Harry finished and emptied his Alchemic Pen of the remaining Vitris Auri. Now it was time to try his next idea.</p><p>Harry still had some Oulm left over from his first prototypes so he quickly set about getting it hot enough in the forge to liquefy it. He had to carefully watch the Oulm so that he didn’t ‘melt’ the Magic out of the low-grade Magical Metal. Extracting it too late would leave him with inert metal that was useless to Enchanting. Once he had the Oulm liquefied he filled his Alchemic Pen and set to work filling in the Runic Array and Circuit Lines of the next Sylvuan knife. A half hour later and Harry was sitting back and letting the Oulm cool and solidify into the knife.</p><p>“Harry, it’s time for lunch.” Penny spoke up as she stood up from the table she was sitting at.</p><p>“Alright, I need a break anyway.” Harry agreed and the two left to the Great Hall to fill their stomachs. Luna sat with them at lunch and proceeded to tell them about Christmas at the Rookery, the Lovegood Family ancestral home. Apparently Luna lived near the Weasley Family and the two Families often got together during the Holidays. Harry thought the traditions of the Magical World would be either normal-ish or completely odd. There didn’t seem to be much in-between in the Magical World. But it seemed certain traditions were practiced by some Families while others weren’t and vice versa depending on the Family in question. It also seemed that the vast majority of students were heading home this year. Harry would bet money that it was because of the whole ‘Heir of Slytherin’ investigation currently still in-progress.</p><p>As of now there hadn’t been another attack. Harry suspected that was because of the Auror presence within Hogwarts. It was hard to hide a monster moving through the school when all the portraits and ghosts, plus the Aurors were watching as much of the school as possible. Hopefully this ‘Heir’ would wise up and just leave everyone alone, or get caught soon, Harry wasn’t particular about which. After lunch Harry and Penny returned to the hidden workshop. Harry quickly set about testing his new prototypes.</p><p>“First up, the Vitris Auri and Sylvuan knife.” Harry stated as he created a Lumos Charm. A pass through the light with the blade and the Charm flickered and lost two thirds of its size and brightness. “Yes! Progress!” Harry cheered and Penny clapped for him from her table. “I better check the Array.” Harry thought aloud as he started inspecting the prototype.</p><p>“Is it still working, Harry?” Penny asked a couple of minutes later.</p><p>“It appears to be.” Harry replied. “I didn’t find any evidence of damage. Let’s see how many swings it takes to snuff out an average Lumos Charm.” A ball of light appeared next to Harry and he swung the prototype through the spell. The Charm flickered and shrank to only a third of its original size and brightness. A second pass through the Charm dispersed it entirely. “Just a quick check…” Harry mumbled to himself as he inspected the prototype for damage. A minute later saw Harry whooping with joy. “No damage! It works! It works!”</p><p>“Congratulations Harry!” Penny cheered for him as well.</p><p>“I’ll have to put it through some durability tests, see just how much it can take, but if it holds up I’ll try combining two of the ‘Base Arrays’ into one functional Array and applying it to the next Sylvuan prototype.” The young Artificer was practically glowing with glee at his progress.</p><p>“What about the other prototype?” Penny asked pointing at the Oulm Circuit Sylvuan knife.</p><p>“Right, right, almost forgot in the excitement.” Harry shook his head to refocus. “Let’s test this one out.” Another Lumos Charm was conjured and Harry passed the Oulm Circuit knife through the spell. The Charm wavered when the blade was in contact with it, but it settled after the blade cleared the space. Neither size nor brightness had diminished.</p><p>“It did something at least?” Penny offered and Harry looked over the Array to check for any damage. Not seeing any after a few minutes Harry stabbed the Lumos Charm and watched it waver with the blade occupying the same space. Even as it wavered the Charm never went out, even after a solid minute of exposure to the prototype.</p><p>“How odd.” Harry mused as he looked the knife over. “Same Runic Array, but different materials have gotten different reactions. Fascinating.” The Artificer was smiling just as brightly as when his other prototype had succeeded. Penny could only smile fondly at Harry. Even when his work didn’t quite ‘work’ he still found it interesting and was left with more things to try out and test. He didn’t let failure stop him; in fact it seemed to spur him on, like he was taking it as a challenge. She had to admit, that work ethic was rather attractive.</p><p>“So what now?” Penny asked breaking Harry from his staring at the prototype. Harry thought about it for a moment and his eyes fell onto his prototype Oulm knife that had ‘failed’. But the knife did have the interesting effect of leaving his fingers with the ‘pins and needles’ feeling when they were tapped by the edge of the blade.</p><p>“I’m going to test something else.” Harry grinned as he brought the edge of the Oulm Circuit knife to his left pinky finger. He tapped the digit with the blade and instantly lost feeling in the finger. “Interesting.” He grinned as he looked between his finger and the prototype.</p><p>“What did you do, Harry?” Penny questioned him and Harry turned to her with a smile.</p><p>“I believe I’ve just temporarily removed feeling from my left pinky.” Harry informed the Prefect. He did not expect her to suddenly be at his side and looking over the digit with a critical eye.</p><p>“What do you mean ‘removed feeling’?” Penny demanded as she tried to find anything wrong with the finger.</p><p>“Nothing serious, Penny, I just can’t feel it right now.” Harry tried to placate the older girl but she just looked at him incredulously.</p><p>“You might have just magically severed your nerves!” Penny raised her voice to express her worry for him. “This could be VERY serious! We’re going to the Hospital Wing!”</p><p>“I’m sure it’ll wear off in…” Harry tried to say but Penny was having none of it. She latched her hand around his left wrist and proceeded to drag him out of the hidden workshop.</p><p>“We’re going and that’s final!” Penny stated with finality as Harry stopped resisting and let her lead him along. He supposed it was nice knowing how much Penny cared about him. But he also didn’t much care for having the school Mediwitch, Madam Pomfrey, fussing over him as she was want to do for the students. Oh well, if it helped Penny stop worrying he’d go. There wasn’t much he wouldn’t do for her and Tonks if it helped them out, now that he thought about it.</p><p>‘It’s good to have such great friends.’ Harry thought to himself as he followed along with Penny. ‘Though I hope she releases the death grip on my wrist soon, since I’m coming along willingly.’</p><p>She didn’t.</p><p>
  <strong>-End Chapter-</strong>
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  <strong>Progress! Technically double ‘progress’, maybe, if you squint? So Harry and Penny had a nice little duel, Tom’s plans are being shafted by the presence of Aurors in the castle, and now it’s time for Christmas! How will our Artificer’s Yule Break turn out? Keep reading to find out!</strong>
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  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
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<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Yule Break, The Two Knives</h2></a>
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  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Time for Christmas with Family! Maybe some more progress and testing as well?</strong>
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  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
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  <strong>Chapter 16 – Yule Break, the Two Knives</strong>
</p><p>Harry and Penny sat together in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express as it headed back towards London. Both were looking forward to seeing their families and celebrating the Holidays. Harry had brought along both of his prototypes for further testing. But at the moment he was thinking back onto his forced trip to the Hospital Wing via Penny.</p><p>-Flashback ~ Hospital Wing-</p><p>“What seems to be the problem?” Madam Pomfrey asked as Penny led Harry, by the wrist she still had a death grip on, into the Hospital Wing.</p><p>“Harry can’t feel his left pinky, Madam Pomfrey.” Penny told the Mediwitch. “I’m worried he might have some damage to his nerves.”</p><p>“Sit down, Mr. Potter, and let me see your left hand.” Pomfrey requested as Harry followed along and sat down before offering his hand. The Mediwitch ran her wand over his hand a few times and then cast a few diagnostic charms on his finger directly. “Hmm, how odd.” She commented as she tapped his pinky a few times with her wand.</p><p>“What’s odd?” Harry asked and the Mediwitch looked at him for a moment with questioning eyes.</p><p>“There is no Magic in your pinky right now, Mr. Potter.” Pomfrey informed the two students. “It’s the reason you can’t feel it or move it.” She tutted while she went over to her Potions Cabinet and brought back a small vial of transparent blue fluid. “Magic is a part of a Witch or Wizard, without it our bodies don’t function properly. This is usually displayed in the form of Magical Exhaustion; symptoms of which are lethargy, loss of coordination, and in severe cases loss of feeling in the extremities followed by unconsciousness.”</p><p>“So he gave his pinky severe Magical Exhaustion?” Penny questioned a look of confusion on her face.</p><p>“Interesting…” Harry mused as Pomfrey covered his finger in the Potion by soaking a cotton ball and then dabbing it on his pinky.</p><p>“You could have permanently injured yourself for all you knew, Harry. That’s not what I would call interesting!” Penny huffed at him and Harry looked back at her with a smile.</p><p>“I disagree, though in future I’ll make sure not to directly test on myself.” Harry promised his friend and Penny gave him a nod of acceptance.</p><p>“Magical Exhaustion wears off over time as the Witch or Wizard rests, so this injury wouldn’t have persisted.” Pomfrey informed them before turning a sharp-eyed look on Harry. “Don’t do this to yourself again, Mr. Potter. I don’t want to see you in here from your own hardheadedness.”</p><p>“Yes, Madam Pomfrey.” Harry replied as he started to get feeling back in his pinky. It seemed the Potion she’d rubbed onto his finger had worked.</p><p>-End Flashback-</p><p>“Hey Penny.” Harry spoke up as he formed a Lumos on the tip of his index finger.</p><p>“What’s up, Harry?” Penny looked up from her book seeing the Charm on his fingertip.</p><p>“Catch.” Harry grinned as he flicked his finger forward and the Lumos Charm travelled across the short space. Penny smiled as she ‘caught’ the spell on her own index finger. With a grin the Lumos Charm turned blue and was flicked back at him.</p><p>“Back at you, Harry.” Penny grinned. Harry caught the Charm next and turned the color to green before tossing it back. The two spent the next hour playing around like this. Changing the Lumos Charm’s color with each pass and eventually a second Lumos Charm was added and then a third. Near the end of their impromptu game they were juggling eight Charms between them, all different colors. Needless to say, this was a rather fun trip for the two of them.</p><p>-Platform Nine and Three Quarters-</p><p>Harry and Penny were just exiting the Hogwarts Express when they, and everyone else on the platform, noticed one person that stood out quite a lot.</p><p>“Harry! Harry! Over here! Welcome back!” Sirius’ yelled from the platform. Harry face-palmed at what his Godfather was doing and wearing.</p><p>“Well…someone is feeling the spirit of the season.” Penny giggled as Harry rolled his eyes, though a small smile was on his face.</p><p>“I feel like I should have seen this coming…” Harry trailed off with a sigh as everyone on the platform looked at his Godfather. Sirius was wearing robes in Christmas colors, red and green, a large hat with a Christmas Tree on it that twinkled with actual lights, and was holding up a sign that read, ‘Welcome back Harry!’, in bright red and green. “Really Sirius…?” The teen sighed as he and Penny made their way over to the loud, brightly dressed man.</p><p>“Hi Harry! Welcome back!” Sirius laughed loudly and Harry just huffed before letting his Godfather pull him into a hug.</p><p>“I missed you too Sirius.” Harry playfully grumbled with an overly dramatic eye roll for effect. Sirius only laughed more before releasing his Godson.</p><p>“Good to see you again, Penny.” Sirius greeted the blonde with a smile.</p><p>“Nice to see too, Sirius.” Penny returned the greeting. Sirius had insisted she call him by his name rather than Mr. Black. According to Sirius it made him feel old.</p><p>“We’ll be seeing you for Christmas, yes?” Sirius asked and Penny nodded.</p><p>“Yes for a while at least. We always go to Christmas dinner at my grandparent’s home. The whole Clearwater Family, Magic and Mundane, get together every year for it.” Penny informed and Sirius smiled in response; that was the kind of Family he always wished he’d had growing up.</p><p>“Then we’ll be seeing you for presents!” Sirius chuckled which Penny smiled at. After farewells had been exchanged Penny headed over to her parents while Sirius and Harry moved off to the side. Sirius then Side-Along Apparated Harry back to Wood End Cottage.</p><p>-Christmas Morning-</p><p>“Harry! Wake up! It’s Christmas!” Sirius yelled loudly as he burst into Harry’s room, badly startling the boy in question.</p><p>“Sirius!” Harry yelled groggily. “Don’t do that!” The boy put on his glasses as he climbed out of his warm bed.</p><p>“But it’s Christmas Harry! That means presents! The Tonks’ will be here soon too!” Sirius beamed as he tousled Harry’s bed head and then dashed from the room.</p><p>“How is a grown man more excited about Christmas than me?” Harry wondered as he stretched and yawned before heading down towards the living room and kitchen. Having a nice breakfast thanks to Tayla, Harry felt far more awake and sat next to Sirius on the couch looking at the presents under the tree. It wasn’t too long afterwards that a knock came from the door. Sirius got up to answer it and the Tonks’ came inside a few moments later.</p><p>“Wotcher, Harry!” Tonks cheered as she pulled him into a hug.</p><p>“Hey Tonks.” Harry smiled as he returned the bubbly Metamorph’s hug.</p><p>“You ready for presents?” Tonks asked with a grin.</p><p>“Yes, though I think Sirius is far more excited than me.” Harry teased, only to be completely ignored by Sirius who was already sat next to the presents and ready to start passing them out.</p><p>“Not surprising.” Andromeda laughed as she told Sirius to wait for a bit longer. “He’s always been a child at heart.”</p><p>“Oi!” Sirius exclaimed making Andromeda and Ted laugh.</p><p>It wasn’t too much longer before the group was joined by Penny, who arrived via the Floo and shortly after her Remus had joined them the same way. It was with much cheer that the group started to exchange gifts, with Sirius happily passing out presents from beneath the tree. Remus had gotten Harry multiple books on Runes and Enchanting, as well as a few of his own recommendations about Magical Creatures. Harry had happily thanked the worn man as he looked through some of them. Sirius had gifted him a Journeyman Alchemist Kit, which Harry had stared at for a good long moment before practically tackling Sirius with a hug. Andromeda and Ted had been all smiles as they handed over their gift to him. Harry understood why as soon as he removed the wrapping paper and saw what it was.</p><p>“It’s brilliant.” Harry smiled as he looked at the framed photo of his parents and a young infant Harry. The sight of his parents fawning over his infant self was all the proof anyone would ever need to know how much love Lily and James had for their son.</p><p>The next gift was from Penny, it was a hand-knitted scarf in Ravenclaw colors that almost matched the one he’d made for her last year. Harry smiled as he wrapped it around his neck and thanked Penny for it. A playful ‘I guess this makes us even.’, brought laughter to the group while Penny playfully rolled her eyes at Harry.</p><p>“Mine next!” Tonks grinned as her gift was handed to Harry. He tore off the paper and then opened the box to find a book, rather old, on Broom Crafting. Harry pulled the old book out of the box and looked it over. “I remember you said you wanted to figure out how Brooms worked. When I saw that book at the secondhand store in Diagon I figured you’d like it. A lot of those kinds of books aren’t published anymore because the big broom companies have argued against them in the Wizengamot. But they can’t get rid of all the ones already published.”</p><p>“This is great Tonks!” Harry smiled happily. He’d been having a devil of a time trying to find a book on the subject through Owl Order. He was one hundred percent sure that the Broom Making companies had put protections onto their finished Brooms to protect their secrets. That was the only reason he hadn’t bought a Broom or two and tried taking them apart already.</p><p>Now that Harry, the youngest, had opened his presents the rest of the group started to open theirs. Andromeda rolled her eyes at Sirius when her gift from him turned out to be ‘sexy’ robes for her to wear for Ted. Sirius had laughed good-naturedly and even gotten a thumbs up from Ted in secret. A second gift from both Remus and Sirius had her give them genuine thanks as it was a lovely travelling cloak with Charms to keep her warm, cool, dry, and to keep it from getting dirty.</p><p>Ted had received a specially made Wizard’s Chess Set that had the playing styles of several Experts ‘saved’ into it so he could play even without a partner. The man had thanked both Remus and Sirius with a grin. This would certainly make slow days at the office more enjoyable.</p><p>Remus had gotten new robes from Andromeda and Ted seeing as most of the man’s clothes were all a bit worn. Remus had thanked them and Sirius had given him his gift next. The ‘gift’ exploded confetti into Remus’ face when he opened the box and Sirius laughed loudly.</p><p>“The prank war begins again, Moony!” Sirius laughed and Remus gave a tired shake of the head at his friend before pulling out the ‘real’ gift at the bottom of the box. It was a five hundred Galleon gift certificate to an Apothecary that specialized in brewing and selling ‘rare’ and ‘difficult’ Potions. Remus’ eyes widened at the amount but as soon as he tried to open his mouth Sirius was already shaking his head. “Non-Refundable Moony, you have to use it!” Remus gave Sirius a nod and a smile filled with gratitude. Unbeknownst to Harry, Penny, and even Tonks; this certificate would pay for Remus’ Wolfsbane Potion for a few years straight.</p><p>Penny was gifted a Magical Bookmark from Tonks. It could be separated into ten pieces and used to mark places in different books that related to each other. The Bookmark could then color code itself based on the owner’s desires. From Harry she received a book on Career Spellcraft; a tome that Harry had ordered after seeing that Penny was already capable of creating her own spells. It was filled with the basics of multiple Branches of Magic and how spells were often constructed and used for them. Everything from Transfiguration to Healing was covered in the book for any up and coming Spellcrafter.</p><p>Tonks had happily opened her gifts and smiled at Sirius and Remus when she pulled out a Color Changing Outfit. It was a set of shirt, pants, and shoes that would change color at the wearer’s desire. This particular set was even the pricier version that could do multiple colors at the same time. With Tonks being Tonks it was almost instantly tie dye and Andromeda just shook her head at her daughter’s antics. From Penny she was gifted a Charmed Bracelet that could be used to detect other Charmed Objects. These little trinkets were most often used to find lost items or to check if an object had Magic cast on it. They were good for avoiding pranks but could also warn of more malicious Curses as well, so long as said Curses weren’t hidden from such detection. Unfortunately they tended to wear out after a year at best. Tonks had put it on immediately while thanking Penny. Then she stared right at Sirius with a smug grin making the Marauder sulk about her ‘cheating’.</p><p>“Hope you like it Tonks.” Harry smiled as he handed her his gift. Tonks smiled as she removed the wrapping paper and opened the box. Pulling out what was inside revealed a set of trinkets. Tonks looked them over and Harry explained the function of the first one since Tonks had never seen it. It was a ‘Silent Step’ for her boots so her footsteps wouldn’t make noise. The next trinket was a ‘Hiding Stone’ for whatever she wanted to use it for. Finally a ‘Test Frame’ for her own personal use.</p><p>“Thank you, Harry!” Tonks beamed at him as she pulled him into a hug. Harry returned the embrace with a grin and then Sirius finally opened his own gifts.</p><p>From Ted and Andromeda a nice set of robes for when he had to be ‘Lord Black’. Thankfully they were much less ‘stuffy’ than more traditional Formal Robes. Sirius was pleased with the more modern ‘Muggle’ cut rather than the older styles that most Lords wore at formal events. From Remus a set of all of Zonko’s newest products since Sirius hadn’t had much time to catch up on the ‘pranking scene’ after coming out of his coma. The fact that the box was stuck to his hands made the Dog Animagus squawk at Remus indignantly.</p><p>“You’re the one that restarted the prank war, Padfoot.” Remus smiled pleasantly before Andromeda canceled the Sticking Charm with her wand.</p><p>Sirius’ gift from Tonks was a set of tickets good for any one Professional Quidditch Match of the 1993 season. Sirius, a Quidditch Fan since he was a boy, had hugged his surrogate niece and was already making plans to catch a summer game with Harry right after Hogwarts let out.</p><p>“Here Sirius, this is from me.” Harry smiled and Sirius happily opened his Godson’s gift. It was a small book but the title made Sirius realize he’d been pranked. ‘How to Woo a Witch, That’s Way Out of Your League’ had Remus, Ted, Tonks and Harry outright laughing. Penny and Andromeda kept their laughter to giggles; but everyone was amused knowing that Sirius and Marlie Reed had been dating for a bit now.</p><p>“Ha ha ha, very funny you!” Sirius fake laughed before breaking into a grin at his Godson. “Not too bad there, Harry! We’ll make a proper Marauder out of you yet!”</p><p>“Look in the bottom Sirius.” Harry instructed and when Sirius pulled out what was in the bottom he couldn’t help the fond smile that appeared on his face. It was a picture of him and Harry standing outside of Wood End Cottage, they’d had it taken the past summer. Under the picture was emblazoned the words, ‘Home is Where the Heart Is’.</p><p>“Thank you, Harry.” Sirius pulled his Godson into a hug and the two held each other for a bit before Sirius pulled back. “I’ll definitely have to get a frame for this. I’m putting it on the mantle.” Harry could only smile at how happy Sirius looked right now surrounded by friends and family.</p><p>From there the day progressed with a light lunch and festive games. Tonks and Penny disappeared for a bit, much to the blonde’s confusion as Tonks practically dragged her away. Harry was enjoying looking through some of his new books when Tonks called him upstairs for a bit. Thinking nothing of it, Harry ascended the stairs and only stopped when he realized that he was about to open the same door that he’d been ‘surprised’ with on his birthday.</p><p>“No way she’d be able to trick Penny again, right?” Harry mumbled to himself before he shook his head and opened the door. What he saw was not a topless set of young women, but something equally nice. Tonks and Penny were in ‘sexy’ Santa outfits that showed off their midriffs, legs, and some cleavage. Penny was a bit pink in the cheeks but looked fine with the outfit. The brown-eyed blonde was a full head taller than Harry. Her hair reached a bit past her shoulders and thanks to her current outfit Harry was able to see her figure very well. The swell of her breasts, unknown to Harry, marked her as a healthy C-Cup. Her trim waist flared out to wide hips that gave her a slight ‘hourglass’ figure. Combine that with her long legs and Harry could only think that Penny was a very beautiful girl. Tonks had shamelessly increased her bust size so that her own outfit revealed far more cleavage than normal. The Santa hats on their heads completed the look.</p><p>“Surprise Harry!” Tonks announced with a grin. Harry just stood there taking in the lovely sight for a bit.</p><p>“How did I let you talk me into this?” Penny questioned and Tonks pulled her into a sideways hug with a smile.</p><p>“Because you want to show off for Harry?” Tonks teased the younger girl.</p><p>“Th-that’s not it!” Penny denied though the glance she threw Harry’s way ‘might’ have brought her denial into question.</p><p>“Really?” Tonks laughed as she turned both of them around so that Harry could see them from the back. His eyes were drawn to the short skirts covering their bums before Tonks playfully flipped both her skirt as well as Penny’s.</p><p>“Oh…” Harry uttered out as he found out that the outfits apparently came with underwear too. Panties with horizontal green and red stripes filled his vision for a moment before Penny quickly forced her skirt back down. The blonde’s face was now bright red as she slapped at Tonks’ with a whine about Harry being ‘too young’ again.</p><p>“Hope you enjoyed your ‘special’ present, Harry!” Tonks laughed as she fended off Penny’s embarrassed slaps. “Give us a bit to change again and we’ll be right down.” Harry nodded; his own cheeks a bit red, with a small happy smile on his face as he closed the door behind him.</p><p>‘Tonks and Penny have nice bums.’ Harry thought to himself before shaking his head. It’d be best to get his face back to normal before being seen by Sirius again. His Godfather could spot a successful prank with just a glance after all.</p><p>It wasn’t long after that when Harry pulled out his prototypes to show to Sirius, Remus, Ted, and Andromeda. They were all impressed with the Vitris Auri and Sylvuan knife’s ability to weaken and dispel the Charms Harry produced. Pulling a bit of a prank Harry demonstrated the Oulm Circuit knife’s ability by tapping Sirius on the shoulder with it. After the initial surprise at not being able to feel or move his left arm was over, Sirius had laughed and flopped his arm around in amusement.</p><p>“What an odd effect.” Remus commented and Harry agreed with him, explaining that it was the same Runic Array just made with different materials. Their talk was interrupted when Sirius swung his unfeeling left arm into Remus’ back with a very fake ‘Sorry Moony, can’t seem to control my arm.’; which had led to Remus pulling out his wand and sticking the offending limb to Sirius’ side with a Sticking Charm.</p><p>“Hmm, this Oulm Circuit one could be pretty useful for the Aurors, Harry.” Tonks mused as she held the prototype. “If you could make it a different shape and it still worked the Ministry might want to purchase some for the Aurors to use. We can’t exactly be swinging around knives at people, you know?”</p><p>“Not a bad idea…” Harry trailed off as he thought upon the implications of his prototype. A ‘weapon’ that would allow Aurors to render a criminal Witch or Wizard immobile for several minutes would indeed be useful. The fact that it couldn’t be reversed with something like an Enervate Charm or a Finite Charm would make it better than a Stunning Spell or Immobulus Charm too.</p><p>“At the very least Madam Bones might be interested in looking at them.” Tonks shrugged. “It would make on scene questioning of suspects easier if they could still talk but couldn’t move their arms and legs.”</p><p>“I’ll look into altering its Form when I get back to Hogwarts, Tonks. Thanks for the idea.” Harry smiled at the Metamorph, who was showing her festive spirit with red and green striped hair.</p><p>“No problem Harry, I kind of want one of these already.” Tonks chuckled as she watched Sirius unstick his left arm and swing the floppy limb at Remus again.</p><p>“Certainly not for pranks, I’d hope.” Andromeda looked at her daughter who only smiled ‘innocently’. “What are we going to do with you, Nymphadora?”</p><p>“Not call me that?” Tonks grumbled at the use of her first name. Ted could only smile as his wife and his daughter got into another debate about Nymphadora’s name.</p><p>Penny had to leave at around three in the afternoon to go with her parents to the Clearwater Family Christmas Dinner. So with goodbyes, as well as hugs from Tonks and Harry, Penny left via the Floo for the day. Remus tried to leave shortly after their own Christmas Dinner but Sirius had practically forced him to stay the night. The Tonks’ had left around nine that night with another round of goodbyes and hugs. Tonks even kissed Harry’s cheek with a smile and a wink. Harry would be teased again by Sirius for the rest of the night before bed about it too.</p><p>All in all Harry found he very much enjoyed his first Family Christmas. The Dursleys had never neglected him; but the cheer of the Season was rather absent between them and Harry. This was the first Family Christmas where the full Spirit of the Season was everywhere for Harry and he was a part of it; wholly and completely. It was no surprise that Harry fell asleep that night with a happy smile on his face.</p><p>
  <strong>-End Chapter-</strong>
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  <strong>Aww, a very Merry Christmas! Family, Festivities, and Fun! What more could you ask for? Tonks was up to her mischief again! Penny seems to want to ‘show off’ for Harry! What has become of our Prefect?! But Tonks also has an idea for Harry’s Oulm Circuit prototype. Will that pan out in Harry’s favor in future? We’ll be back at Hogwarts soon, what will become of the Chamber? Keep reading to find out!</strong>
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  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
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<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Back to Hogwarts, Valentine's Day?</h2></a>
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  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Back to Hogwarts! How much more can the Chamber be hampered by the presence of Aurors? What will be the next event to happen at Hogwarts this year? </strong>
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  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
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  <strong>Chapter 17 – Back to Hogwarts, Valentine’s Day?</strong>
</p><p>“So nothing has happened during Yule Break?” Harry questioned and Penny shook her head.</p><p>“Nothing at all, or at least that’s what the Professors have told to us Prefects.” Penny replied as they sat at the Ravenclaw Table with Luna to Penny’s left and Harry to her right.</p><p>“So did the culprit go home for the Yule Break?” Harry wondered as he ate.</p><p>“Christmas should be spent with family.” Luna smiled at them both as she shaped her mashed potatoes into a vaguely castle-like form.</p><p>“Indeed it should, Luna.” Penny smiled at her fellow blonde.</p><p>“Not sure if the culprit cares much.” Harry shrugged.</p><p>“Even mean people like Christmas, right?” Luna asked and Harry instantly glanced at Snape in response. The Potions Professor was scowling, as always, so there was a fairly good chance he didn’t care for the Holidays.</p><p>“Maybe not all of them.” Harry responded with a shrug as he went back to his dinner.</p><p>The next day after classes Harry returned to his hidden workshop to experiment with altering the Oulm Circuit Knife’s Form. He carefully went through the Runic Sequences of the Array looking for anything that might have to be changed. Several minutes later he came to the two parts of the Array that he’d have to change if he wanted this idea to work. The ‘Severance’ Sequence and the ‘Cut Prevention’ Sequence would both have to be substituted out for other Runic Sequences to have any chance of working with a different Form.</p><p>“What sequence would work though?” Harry murmured to himself as he went through a few of his books. Not much progress was made on his first full day back at Hogwarts.</p><p>The weekend proved to be rather fruitful for Harry. He’d found a Runic Sequence that might work with his new idea. The ‘Block’ Sequence was used to keep a designated person, item, or other ‘Magically Recognized’ thing from moving past a certain point. While it was often used in Warding, nothing about the sequence suggested that it couldn’t be used on something mobile. It wasn’t a ‘Static’ sequence like his Rune Safe was. Now he just had to find a new Runic Sequence that would be able to make use of the ‘Block’ Sequence. Thankfully that only took him until Sunday evening. A rather obscure sequence used to transfer effects with contact. Harry would have to rewrite it and then try to integrate it together with the ‘Block’ Sequence and his own Runic Designation for Mana. If this worked out he should, theoretically, be able to change the Form of his Oulm Circuit Knife to something a bit more ‘in line’ with Police Work.</p><p>During Harry’s research for his new idea, Penny was still looking into what Slytherin’s Monster could be. She brought up a potential idea to Harry during the last week of January.</p><p>“It might have been a Cockatrice.” Penny suggested as she showed Harry some of her newest notes. “When a Cockatrice gets old enough they can develop a ‘Petrifying Gaze’ of their own. That fits with what happened to Mrs. Norris and Creevey. Plus Cockatrices do have snake tails, so Magically-speaking they might have enough of a relationship to other Magical Snakes to make crossbreeding easier.”</p><p>“That still doesn’t bode well for anybody in the castle.” Harry grimaced. A Cockatrice was a deadly Magical Beast after all. They were currently rated at XXXX by the Ministry of Magic. If they were old enough to have gained a ‘Petrifying Gaze’ then they moved up to XXXXX classification. Crossbreeding one with a different Magical Snake didn’t make them ‘less harmful’ by any means.</p><p>“It doesn’t, but it could give us a way to deal with the petrification problem.” Penny replied, happy that she’d found some kind of useful lead.</p><p>“Better than being caught unaware.” Harry agreed as he looked over his notes for the Oulm Circuit Array. He was still trying to rewrite the ‘Transfer’ Sequence to work how he wanted it to. So far he’d done seven different rewrites and none of them had worked out. The ‘Transfer’ Sequence was very…finicky…for lack of a better term. It had very little mutability in its structure before its purpose was lost. With a sigh Harry set about rewriting it again to try and get it to integrate with the ‘Block’ Sequence and his Runic Designation for ‘Mana’.</p><p>-First Week of February-</p><p>“I think it works…” Harry breathed out happily as he looked over his latest rewrite. The ‘new’ version of the ‘Transfer’ Sequence finally fit with the ‘Block’ Sequence. His Runic Designation for ‘Mana’ also fit with the ‘Block’ Sequence and should finally be the ‘thing’ that was blocked when the ‘Transfer’ Sequence was used. The newly rewritten sequence made it so that physical contact had to take place and it could only transfer to something Magical. But these two limitations worked out just fine for what Harry wanted the Item in question to do. After all, Witches and Wizards were Magical, so the Array should work out just fine.</p><p>“Now I just have to test it.” Harry exhaled as he went to the smithy to start making the prototype of his new Oulm Circuit design. Harry was hopeful to get this done by April and have a working Item. It would make a great birthday gift for Tonks! Plus if she could demonstrate the Item’s uses and usefulness to the Aurors he might just be able to make a lucrative sale. If his Items proved useful in the hands of the British Aurors then he could potentially use that success as a means to market his Items to other Magical Police Forces across the world too.</p><p>-Friday, February 12<sup>th</sup>-</p><p>“He can’t be serious.” Harry groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose.</p><p>“Maybe it won’t be that bad?” Penny tried to reassure him, but even she looked unconvinced.</p><p>What were they lamenting about? Lockhart had just announced that he was going to be throwing a large ‘morale boosting’ Valentine’s Day for the castle. The man even said that he was hiring ‘cupids’ to deliver Valentine’s Day poems for the students if they wanted to submit one. This weekend was going to be a nightmare. Luckily Valentine’s Day fell on a Sunday this year so that classes wouldn’t be interrupted at least.</p><p>-Sunday, February 14<sup>th</sup>-</p><p>“I’ve got a musical message to deliver to Harry Potter in person.” A rough male voice behind Harry stated as he was almost to the Great Hall. He’d been safely secure, hiding, in his workshop for most of the day. Unfortunately Penny would be cross with him if he skipped meals so he’d had to leave his sanctuary.</p><p>“I’ll give you twenty Galleons, right now, to not do what you’re about to do.” Harry offered to the ‘cupid’ behind him as he turned to face the person; although the ‘person’ actually turned out to be a Dwarf; about a meter and a half tall, stocky and with a prominent beard. Harry had read about them a little bit when he was familiarizing himself with the Magical World in First Year. They weren’t mentioned much and seemed to exist on the very fringes of Magical Society. There was mention that they were excellent Blacksmiths, as well as Jewelers, and that they lived in mountains mostly. They were also often described as blunt and stubborn.</p><p>“Show me the gold first.” The Dwarf demanded and Harry, eager to avoid the inevitable embarrassment, fished into his pocket and pulled out a Magical Pouch. These were commonly sold in Diagon Alley and were a lesser version of the Mokeskin Pouch Harry had sitting in his Rune Safe. Opening the pouch Harry quickly pulled out twenty of the golden coins and showed them to the Dwarf.</p><p>“We have a deal.” The Dwarf nodded as he tore up the poem in his hands and then held his right hand out for payment. Harry handed the stack of coins over to the Dwarf and watched him place them into his own pouch. “Have a nice day.” With that the Dwarf turned to walk away, but Harry’s curiosity got the better of him.</p><p>“Sir Dwarf, if it’s not a bother, could I ask a few questions?” Harry inquired and the Dwarf turned to look at him.</p><p>“Make it quick, I still have a few more of these things to deliver before I can get out of this ‘costume’.” The Dwarf grumbled, clearly not a fan of the cupid outfit Lockhart forced them to wear.</p><p>“Right, since you already know my name, might I ask yours?” Harry wanted to make some form of introduction.</p><p>“Drad Erdunn.” The now named Drad replied brusquely.</p><p>“Thank you, Mr. Erdunn.” Harry thanked the Dwarf.</p><p>“The ‘Mister’ is unnecessary.” Drad shook his head.</p><p>“Beg your pardon?” Harry asked confused.</p><p>“Erdunn is proper address by Dwarven standards.” Drad informed him. “Mister and Misses are Human forms of address. Dwarves are not overly much for excess formalities.”</p><p>“Ah, I see, thank you for the information, Erdunn.” Harry nodded to the Dwarf.</p><p>“It is fine, lad.” Drad waved it off. “Anything you actually wanted to ask or can I be on my way?”</p><p>“Just a question or two, I won’t keep you long.” Harry stated before he asked his first question. “Why do this ‘job’ when you clearly hate it?”</p><p>“Not much choice, lad. Dwarves can barely get any work in the Magical World these days. We take whatever we can get to keep our families fed.” Drad replied a grimace on his face.</p><p>“I read up on what was available about Dwarves when I was familiarizing myself with the Magical World last year. I did notice a rather…lacking…amount of information on the Dwarves.” Harry remarked and he saw Drad’s eyes narrow in response.</p><p>“I suppose that is your next question?” Drad asked for clarification.</p><p>“If it isn’t an imposition, of course.” Harry nodded. “Feel free not to answer if you don’t want to.”</p><p>“The Dwarves have been pushed to the very edge of the Magical World. Especially in Europe, our own native lands. It started almost a thousand years ago and now we have been reduced to this.” Drad grumbled as he motioned to the cupid outfit he was wearing. “Just so that we can eke out a living.”</p><p>“How did that happen? The books don’t say anything about that. They only mention that the Dwarves were excellent Blacksmiths, Jewelers, and that they lived in mountains.”</p><p>“Those were the days.” Drad exhaled deeply. “My people were driven from our mountain halls; all because the Wizards of the past wanted their fighting with the Goblins to end.” The Dwarf snorted at this. “Lot of good that did them, Rebellions have happened throughout the ages since.”</p><p>“Wizard and Witches pushed the Dwarves out?” Harry questioned in shock.</p><p>“They don’t mention that in their books, do they?” Drad huffed as he shook his head, his beard swaying slightly. “A thousand years ago ‘Gringotts’ had a different name, ‘Baraz Irkul’. Before we were driven out and the Goblins took it over with their filthy, grubby claws.”</p><p>“That’s disgusting.” Harry grimaced at what had been done to the Dwarves. No wonder there was barely anything on them. They’d almost been wiped from Magical History in the last thousand years. All for what appeared to amount to a failed treaty with the Goblins of all things.</p><p>“We don’t blame the Wizards and Witches of today for the actions of their ancestors.” Drad informed him. “We do hold the Goblins in contempt, but that has more to do with our longstanding feud with them for what they took from us.”</p><p>“What happened to your mountain halls?” Harry questioned and Drad sighed despondently.</p><p>“The mountain is gone. All the Magic harvested out when the mountain was mined to almost nothing in a few short generations. When the Magic was gone it was sold to some Mundane King for profit. I believe it’s been built over entirely now with a Mundane City, but I couldn’t tell you the name of the place.” Drad muttered out.</p><p>‘Even their mountain is gone now?’ Harry thought with pity. How long had these Dwarves been stuck, holed up wherever they could find space, barely keeping themselves afloat as the ages passed.</p><p>“I’m sorry to hear that, Erdunn.” Harry offered his sympathies. “I don’t suppose there is much I can do to help though.”</p><p>“That’s alright, lad. We Dwarves will endure. We’re a hardy people, one day we’ll get back what was taken from us.” Drad replied as he clenched his fist. “Don’t suppose it’ll help much, but if you happen to find the ‘Sword of Gryffindor’ in your years here, send it to my father ‘King’ Drasurd Erdunn if you could.”</p><p>“What would you want the ‘Sword of Gryffindor’ for?” Harry questioned.</p><p>“You don’t really believe that Goblins forged such a powerful weapon for a Wizard, do you?” Drad asked and Harry remembered questioning that very fact when he’d been reading up on Magical Swords. “That sword was forged by Dwarven Smiths; my ancestors at that. Only a direct descendant of Gryffindor or a descendant of Erdunn can truly claim that sword and reveal its true power.”</p><p>“I’ll keep my eye out for it then.” Harry agreed as he now had much more to think about. “Thank you for speaking with me, Erdunn.”</p><p>“It was good to meet a Wizard that’s willing to listen.” Drad replied as he turned and headed off. Harry was left with his thoughts and the revelation that a chunk of Magical History had basically been covered up by guilty Wizards in the past.</p><p>“At least I’m not the only one that doesn’t trust the Goblins.” Harry mumbled to himself quietly as he made his way into the Great Hall.</p><p>“Happy Valentine’s Day, Harry.” Penny smiled at him as she handed him a few choice bars of various Honeydukes’ Chocolate.</p><p>“Happy Valentine’s Day, Penny.” Harry smiled back as he handed her an assortment of Honeydukes’ Finest, some of the most expensive chocolates that Honeydukes produced. He’d sent a similar gift to Tonks last night with Hedwig. As if thinking about her summoned the snowy owl, Hedwig swooped down to him with an envelope attached to her leg. “Hey girl, did Tonks send you back?” He asked his owl while removing the letter. Hedwig gave him an affectionate nibble while also taking some food for herself from his plate. With a ‘Prek’ the snowy owl flew off to the Owlery to rest.</p><p>Harry opened the envelope and read the letter. Tonks thanked him for the chocolates and said her Valentine’s Gift was in the envelope. Curious, Harry pulled out what remained in the envelope and smiled when he saw the Magical Photograph of Tonks smiling at him. The Tonks in the photo then stepped backwards a few steps and revealed that she was wearing a VERY skimpy bikini. Harry felt his cheeks heating up as he watched ‘photo Tonks’ increase the size of her breasts or give herself a ridiculously curvy body that was the ‘perfect’ hourglass shape. She even turned around and showed him her ass in multiple sizes!</p><p>“Harry, are you okay? Your face is rather red.” Penny asked in concern. “What did Tonks send you?”</p><p>“Nothing!” Harry exclaimed as he quickly stuffed the picture into the inner pocket of his robes. Penny raised an eyebrow at his reaction before sighing.</p><p>“She sent you something naughty, didn’t she?” Penny asked with a shake of her head.</p><p>“No?” Harry replied, though he didn’t sound convincing even to himself. Penny rolled her eyes before ruffling his hair a bit.</p><p>“Don’t let her corrupt you completely, Harry.” Penny advised with a small smile.</p><p>“Ok.” Harry agreed and they both started on their lunch.</p><p>-Last Week of February-</p><p>“Carefully…slowly…almost there.” Harry mumbled to himself as he filled in the last of the Magic Circuits with his Oulm Circuit material. Even with his Alchemic Pen it was a pain in the ass to fill in the Circuits on a round surface! But after multiple failed attempts at it, Harry finally finished his new Item prototype. “Just let it cool and finish solidifying then we can test out Auror Baton prototype number one.” Harry had copied the idea of the Policeman’s Baton from the Non-Magical World and applied his new Runic Array to a Sylvuan baton with Oulm Circuits. If the baton operated the same way as the prototype knife, then Harry would give the first one to Tonks and make a few more if the Auror Department was interested.</p><p>“Now I just need to test it out.” Harry mused on how to do that without using himself as the Guinea Pig. Penny would be upset with him if he tested out his Items on himself again. “Maybe I should take a page out of the Weasley Twin’s handbook and pay some people to be test subjects.” With a chuckle Harry pulled a piece of blank parchment over and set about writing out his proposal. He’d have Penny take a look at it and help revise it when she came by. For now he’d continue looking over the Communication Mirror notes he’d gotten from Remus. He’d been puzzling over them in his free time lately, but he still couldn’t figure out what made the successful pair work. Remus was indeed a meticulous note keeper; Harry had read through the Marauder’s attempt to use the same Charms and Enchantments that worked on the successful pair on others. The others were all failures though, each and every time. It was truly baffling as to why.</p><p>-First Week of March-</p><p>“Harry, you’re sure you know what you’re doing?” Penny questioned in concern.</p><p>“It’s not really any different from a knife, just bigger and double edged.” Harry tried to reassure Penny as he held his first successfully forged sword prototype. He had yet to actually etch the Runic Array into it, but his success with the Vitris Auri and Sylvuan knife had spurned him to move forward with the next step to his Artifact Sword. He’d worked out a new addition to his Runic Array as well. The ‘Enhance’ Sequence was fairly common as a boosting sequence to increase either potency or range of a Magical Effect. The best part was that unlike the ‘Transfer’ Sequence the ‘Enhance’ Sequence was much more mutable. It had only taken Harry three attempts to rewrite it so that it would integrate into his Array.</p><p>“I’m staying to make sure you don’t do something dangerous as a test.” Penny informed him and Harry nodded. She hadn’t been overly pleased about him wanting to hire test subjects either. But she’d relented as it was better than him testing his prototypes on himself. Harry had even promised to do the tests as close to the Hospital Wing as possible if it would put her at ease. Speaking of he needed to set up the first tests of the Auror Baton soon, now that Penny was ‘on board’.</p><p>“I appreciate your concern, Penny, thank you.” Harry smiled at her and Penny gave him a small smile in return. Harry took out his Adamantite Etching Tool and set to work on the hand and a half broadsword he’d forged. As he etched the Runes into the metal he had a good feeling about this prototype. By the time evening had fallen Harry had finished etching the Array and the Circuit Lines along the blade. After a break for dinner Harry and Penny returned to the workshop and Harry made enough Vitris Auri to fill in the Array and Circuit Lines. He wanted to wait for it to cool and solidify so that he could test it right away. Unfortunately curfew was getting close and Penny wouldn’t allow him to break the rules as he wanted.</p><p>On their way back towards Ravenclaw Tower they overheard Filch complaining about one of the girls’ bathrooms on the second floor flooding, again. The Caretaker was grumbling and muttering about this being the fifth time this year so Penny and Harry made sure to stay out of the man’s sight. Filch was unpleasant normally, give the grizzled old man a reason to be angry and he’d invent reasons to try and punish a student.</p><p>-The Next Afternoon-</p><p>Harry grinned widely as he lifted his prototype sword in his hands and checked over the Array and Circuits. Everything looked good, the Runes were perfect and the Circuits were properly spaced. All in all Harry was very happy with this prototype. Now all that was left was to test it. With a thought a large Lumos Charm appeared in the air before Harry. Checking to make sure Penny was far enough away, which she was as she waved to him from next to the wall; Harry made a slow swing through the Lumos Charm. The ball of light blinked out as soon as the blade passed through it. Harry stood there for a moment and then cheered.</p><p>“It worked! Yes!” Harry exclaimed happily.</p><p>“Congratulations Harry!” Penny smiled brightly at him. She was happy to see Harry succeed on something he’d been working on for so long.</p><p>“That’s another step in the right direction!” Harry grinned as he checked over the Runes and Circuits again. He had to make sure there was no damage from the prototype using its effect after all. It wouldn’t really be a success if one use destroyed the sword. Seeing that everything looked undamaged Harry summoned another Lumos Charm and dispelled it with a stab from the prototype sword. “So slashing and stabbing both work; that’s good to know.”</p><p>“How many tests will you put this one through?” Penny inquired as Harry checked over the sword again for any damages.</p><p>“Several, mostly to check its durability and make sure the Runes and Circuits hold up. Though I’ll also try cutting different spells too; it would be kind of a lame creation if it could only put out Lumos Charms.” Harry chuckled as he placed the sword down. “You said you might have had a way to avoid the monster’s petrification, right?”</p><p>“Yes, after some in-depth study of Cockatrices, I’ve found out that breaking the line of sight with one nullifies its ‘Petrifying Gaze’. Most people that have slain one wore some kind of enchanted eye protection to block out the Cockatrice’s ability. If we had something similar we shouldn’t have to worry about the monster’s gaze.” Penny informed him as she showed him her notes on the subject.</p><p>“I could probably make something like that with a bit of time.” Harry mused as he looked over the historical accounts of Wizards and Witches that had brought down Cockatrices in the past. Even without their gaze they were still fast, strong, and armed with razor sharp, poisonous talons. They definitely earned their XXXX danger rating. If Slytherin’s monster was indeed some kind of hybrid of Cockatrice and Magical Snake then it would pay to be prepared.</p><p>-That Weekend-</p><p>Harry grinned at the small turnout for his tests. About eleven students had gathered in an unused classroom down the hall from the Hospital Wing. At one Galleon per test Harry was burning some money for testing, but Penny wouldn’t let him test on students, even willing ones, without proper compensation for potential injury.</p><p>“Thank you all for coming.” Harry welcomed the ten students. He didn’t know any of them personally, but he had two girls and eight boys. None from Slytherin, but four from Hufflepuff, five from Gryffindor, and two from Ravenclaw; so it was a good mix of people. “You’re all here today to help me test out my newest Item.” Harry grinned as he held up the Auror Baton prototype. “This is a prototype for an Item I hope to sell to the Aurors to aid them in their work. It should do nothing more than make whatever limb is struck with it unable to move for a time.”</p><p>“That’s it?” One of the Gryffindors asked.</p><p>“That’s it.” Harry nodded to him.</p><p>“It’ll wear off, right?” One of the girls asked; a Hufflepuff judging by her uniform.</p><p>“Yes, the effect is only temporary, if you feel uncomfortable tell me and we will make the short trip to the Hospital Wing.” Harry replied and all ten of the students nodded. Harry moved over to the first student and gently tapped him with the Baton.</p><p>“I don’t think it worked.” The Gryffindor boy remarked as he moved his arm around.</p><p>“Perhaps a bit stronger?” Harry mused as he reared back a little farther and struck the boy’s arm a bit harder.</p><p>“Hey, that stings…” The boy trailed off as he realized his arm was flopping down at his side, unmoving.</p><p>“Can you move your arm?” Harry asked and the Gryffindor shook his head, still staring at his arm that he couldn’t feel anymore.</p><p>“This is weird.” The boy remarked as he used his other hand to move his ‘dead’ arm around. “It’s like I slept on it for way too long, except it’s not cold.”</p><p>“That’s what I was going for.” Harry nodded pleased with the first test. “Can I get the next volunteer, please?” He asked politely and one of the Hufflepuff boys stepped forward. Harry hoped the rest of the tests went as well.</p><p>
  <strong>-End Chapter-</strong>
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  <strong>Huh, seems a few things are happening! Harry’s progressing and testing his new Item! But now he knows a hidden secret of Magical History. The Dwarves have suffered and been pushed away to the fringes of Magical Society; all for a treaty that ultimately failed. Is Drad being honest about the true history of the ‘Sword of Gryffindor’? If so what kind of impact will such a thing have on the future? Can the Dwarves be helped? If not now, than in the future perhaps? Keep reading to find out!</strong>
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  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
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<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Birthday, Attack, Rage and Hate</h2></a>
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  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Almost the end of Second Year! What will happen with the Chamber? </strong>
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  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
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  <strong>Chapter 18 – Birthday, Attack, Rage and Hate</strong>
</p><p>-Thursday, April 1<sup>st</sup> ~ Hogwarts-</p><p>“Harrikins!” Tonks cheered as she pulled the boy into a hug. “I’m here just like you asked! What’d you make this time?” The Metamorph, currently pink-haired and purple-eyed, was bubbly as usual. Harry had sent her a letter asking her to come to Hogwarts on her Birthday for her present. Never one to miss out on a chance to tease Harry OR Penny, Tonks had set up a visit after classes to come see them.</p><p>“You’re going to love this, Nym!” Harry grinned as he held a wrapped package out to her.</p><p>“Thank you Harrikins!” Tonks smiled at the Second Year before unwrapping her gift. Opening the box she was met with a metal baton, black in color, which looked very similar to the ones she’d seen Muggle Police have when she went into London with her father. “Is this a police baton?”</p><p>“Same idea, but Magical for Auror use.” Harry grinned brightly at her.</p><p>“Magical how?” Tonks asked as she picked up the baton and got a feel for its weight.</p><p>“Pour a little mana into it and give them a swat and whatever you hit goes to ‘sleep’ for several minutes.” Harry smiled as he happily explained the Item’s function.</p><p>“You actually finished the idea from Christmas?” Tonks blinked at him, a mixture of shock, surprise, and impressed on her face. “It’s only been four months! Don’t most Enchanted Objects take longer to figure out?”</p><p>“Well, I had the knife already ‘working’, sort of, so it was just a matter of finding and rewriting the proper Runic Sequences into a functional Array.” Harry shrugged, disregarding the multitude of attempts it had taken him; it was worth it for Nym.</p><p>“Hmm, I think you’re downplaying your skills a bit there, Harrikins.” Tonks chuckled as she looked over her gift. “I think I’ll test it out real quick.”</p><p>“Test it?” Harry tilted his head confused. His eyes widened when he saw the mischievous grin on her lips.</p><p>“Tap!” Tonks exclaimed as she tapped his left shoulder and Harry’s arm hung limply at his side.</p><p>“Oi!” Harry squawked at the laughing young woman.</p><p>“What did I miss?” Penny asked, hearing the laughter as soon as she opened the door to the guest meeting room. Seeing Harry with a ‘floppy’ arm and Tonks laughing; the Prefect quickly put the situation together. “Tonks!”</p><p>“What?” The Metamorph grinned. “I didn’t do anything! You have no proof!”</p><p>“Harry’s arm is proof enough!” Penny rolled her eyes at her older friend. “No more ‘testing’ the baton for either of you, agreed?”</p><p>“I didn’t ‘test’ anything!” Harry proclaimed while glaring at the still snickering Tonks.</p><p>“Don’t make me confiscate your gift, Tonks.” Penny threatened the Junior Auror.</p><p>“I’m not a student!” Tonks retorted as she ‘hid’ the baton away from Penny’s gaze. “You can’t just take my stuff!”</p><p>“I’m still a Prefect and I can confiscate anything that might be dangerous or disruptive.” Penny informed the Metamorph with a ‘try me’ look on her face.</p><p>“Spoilsport!” Tonks stuck out her tongue playfully.</p><p>“Yes, yes, someone has to be the mature one though; otherwise you and Harry would end up hexing each other too much.” Penny sighed in a put upon manner, though the grin on her lips took any ‘heat’ from her words.</p><p>“Do let me know how it works, Nym.” Harry spoke again, an empty vial in his right hand while he slowly clenched and unclenched his left hand. “I’d love to get field data on the baton.”</p><p>“Did you just drink a Potion for your arm?” Tonks questioned curiously.</p><p>“Yeah, it’s a variant of Pepper Up Potion; called the Restore Tonic.” Harry informed them. “Madam Pomfrey gave me a couple extra for my tests. Apparently it’s meant to help with the side effects of Magical Exhaustion, works well for undoing the effects of the baton too.”</p><p>“That’s good to know, at least there’s a way to undo it quickly if necessary.” Penny nodded.</p><p>“I’ll let you know how it works out, Harry.” Tonks smiled at him warmly. “Thank you for the gift, I’ll use it well.”</p><p>“You’re welcome, Nym.” Harry smiled back; he really liked seeing her smile like that.</p><p>“So…are we having some cake and ice cream too?” Tonks questioned with a grin.</p><p>“Yes Tonks, I talked to the House Elves.” Penny giggled at the older girl. “It’ll be here momentarily.”</p><p>“Yay!” Tonks let out the most overly dramatic, child-like, squeal she could and Harry and Penny just sighed at the bubbly Metamorph. There was never a dull moment with their loveable friend around.</p><p>Throughout the rest of April, Harry and Penny continued to work on their schoolwork and practice Wandless Magic together. Harry also continued to produce his ‘Ward Breaker’ Talismans in hopes of showing them to Tonks and her boss, Madam Bones. From Tonks’ letters the baton had gone over well enough for Madam Bones to temporarily approve its use in the field. Tonks’ Senior Auror/Mentor, ‘Mad Eye’ Moody had also shown interest in the Item. With any luck the baton would prove so useful that the DMLE would want them to be standard issue for the Aurors. If they did then Harry was sure he could market his ‘Ward Breaker’ to them as well.</p><p>Work on the Artifact Sword prototype was coming along well enough. The Sylvuan and Vitris Auri broadsword still hadn’t failed, even after dozens of tests and Harry was pleased that he had a solid base down for the future. His next steps would be to make the next prototype with a more extensive Array. Adding in another effect or two to the currently working Array and then testing the new sword once said Array was completed.</p><p>May was the time that Harry and his study buddies ramped up their time in the Library. Hermione was trying to devote almost every waking moment to studying. Only the suggestions of Padma, Mandy and Luna had kept the bushy-haired girl from going off the deep end and burning herself out. Harry was determined to do well, though he honestly felt pretty good about his upcoming Exams. He wasn’t Hermione, who tried to memorize their textbooks half the time, but he did very well in his classes. Even Snape, the hateful man that he was, still gave Harry ‘Acceptable’ on his work in Potions. Though he was fairly certain if he was anybody else he’d be getting at least an ‘Exceeds Expectations’ from the greasy Potions Master.</p><p>-May 29<sup>th</sup>-</p><p>Harry stared down at the Hospital Wing bed that held Penny. The blonde Prefect was petrified, the victim of an attack by the ‘Heir’, the first one since Colin Creevey. He’d almost thought the person had given up. But then he’d heard the news of an attack. Then the news that it was a Prefect. Harry had run to the Hospital Wing as fast as possible, Aurors were scouring the castle for the culprit. Starting from the Second Floor where Penny had been found. The corridor near Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom, once again flooded, had been where she was found by the Aurors. Professors were quickly scrambling to get students into their Common Rooms but in the commotion Harry had made his way to the Hospital Wing. Now, looking down at his friend, stuck in almost mid-stride, he couldn’t help but lament that he had only finished the ‘Anti Petrification Goggles’ this morning. If he’d just been faster, Penny would have had a pair to wear while she was alone.</p><p>The Aurors that had brought Penny in had left by the time Harry had arrived. The Second Year had been looking at Penny’s petrified form ever since he’d gotten there. It was only after several minutes that the boy noticed the edge of parchment poking out of her robe pocket. Knowing that Penny had probably been on her way either to the Library, or from it, Harry pulled the piece of parchment from her pocket and unfolded it. There were multiple lines of writing in Penny’s neat handwriting. All of them with questions about Slytherin’s Monster and the Chamber of Secrets. It was when his eyes landed on the last lines that Harry felt the proverbial ‘light bulb’ turn on. The last lines on the parchment read: ‘Myrtle Warren was the only victim the last time the Chamber was opened. Myrtle Warren potentially ‘Moaning’ Myrtle? Chamber of Secrets entrance hidden in the same bathroom? Access to all of Hogwarts through plumbing?’</p><p>For the first time in his young life Harry Potter felt true Rage and Hate fill his heart. He shook in fury as he looked between the parchment and Penny. Did the ‘Heir’ somehow find out that Penny was looking into the incident? Did Penny get ‘too close’ and was therefore attacked? Harry folded the parchment with shaking hands and put it in his own pocket. Only his Alternate Occlumency kept him from rushing straight out of the Hospital Wing and towards the bathroom. The mass of mental brambles that completely encompassed his mind in protection was also keeping him from completely losing it. He carefully leaned close to Penny before speaking.</p><p>“I’ll fix this Penny, you have my word.” Harry whispered to the petrified teen. He stood up and turned from the Hospital Wing. He quickly made his way to his workshop, the Rage and Hate inside of him swirling around like a storm. He was going to fix this; no one hurt Penny and got away with it! No one! He dodged around some panicking students and dashed down the corridor to his workshop. Once inside Harry breathed deeply and used his Occlumency to direct all the rage inside of him to the task at hand. He quickly grabbed the ‘Anti Petrification Googles’ he’d completed this morning. Then he took almost the entire stack of ‘Ward Breaker’ Talismans and stuffed them into his robe pockets. Finally he grabbed his prototype sword and his Invisibility Cloak. He’d taken to keeping the Cloak inside his Mokeskin Pouch after Sirius had confirmed that it had indeed belonged to James. Now invisible, Harry left his hidden workshop and made his way towards Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom.</p><p>“That’s bloody fantastic.” Harry growled quietly, seeing the words ‘Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever’ written on the wall in what appeared to be blood. He stormed into the flooded bathroom and closed the door behind him. Removing the hood of the Cloak he started pulling out his ‘Ward Breaker’ Talismans and sticking them to the walls, sinks, stalls and floor.</p><p>“What are you doing here?” The ghost known as ‘Moaning Myrtle’ asked timidly from one of the stalls.</p><p>“Fixing the problem.” Harry replied without stopping what he was doing. “You should leave Myrtle, I don’t know if these will affect a Ghost in any way, but you might not want to find out.” He stated as he placed the last Talisman, the twentieth on the wall next to the door. With that he drew his wand and pointed to each Talisman in turn. One by one each of the disc-like Items glowed blue; when all twenty were glowing Harry flicked his wand, pulled up the hood of the Cloak and exited the bathroom. Myrtle decided to leave at Harry’s warning and several seconds later an incomprehensible noise, somewhere between a shriek and the sound of multiple panes of glass breaking simultaneously, came from the bathroom. Without a word Harry threw open the door and looked at what had happened.</p><p>The bathroom was a wreck. The walls and floor had small cracks in them. The stone looked aged and dull. The sinks and mirrors were cracked and there between the broken sinks was a massive hole in the floor. Harry stared coldly at the hole and marched forward. Cleverly hidden, he’d admit, he certainly wouldn’t have suspected the fabled ‘Chamber of Secrets’ to be hidden in a girls bathroom. But he was far too angry to really care right now. Seeing no way down the hole, other than the obvious, Harry removed his Cloak and stuffed it into his empty pocket, and then he sat on the edge and wrapped the dull broadsword prototype in his robe, he then slid down the massive pipe. He didn’t know how long he slid for, maybe a couple of minutes, but he eventually dropped into what appeared to be a pile of animal bones.</p><p>“Bloody cheery.” Harry rumbled angrily as he stomped his way forward. He conjured a large Lumos Charm and lit up the area. Snake motifs were everywhere as he walked. Statutes of snakes lined the walkway and he eventually came to a large vault-like door. “I can feel the Magic in this thing.” He muttered to himself as he examined the door. Seeing no way to get the door open manually Harry growled and pulled the prototype sword. Placing the tip of the dull blade on the edge of the door Harry dragged the sword along the length of the large circular door. A strange sound, almost like the hiss of a snake combined with the hiss of air escaping a tire, rang out and Harry watched as the metal snakes on the door withdrew and the large door swung open.</p><p>“Not warded?” Harry wondered as he looked at his prototype. “Was it just locked with a password? Lucky me, the Magic of that type of Locking Spell deactivates once the password is given. But removing the Magic powering the Spell does the same thing.” The rage bubbling inside of him flared again now that the obstacle was out of the way. With a grimace he walked into the Chamber proper and saw another pathway lined with snake statutes and pools of water on the sides. Stalking forward Harry spotted what appeared to be an older student, judging by the Hogwarts Robes, standing over a smaller student on the floor.</p><p>“Ah, now isn’t this a surprise.” The older student commented as he turned to face Harry. “Harry Potter, how did you get down here?”</p><p>“Who are you and who is that?” Harry demanded trying to get a look at the smaller student.</p><p>“This? This is just a dumb girl that spilled her heart out to the first person that would listen to her.” The teen chuckled darkly as he moved away to reveal Ginny Weasley lying on the floor. The redhead looked pale, unnaturally so, and Harry turned to face the older student again.</p><p>“Who are you?” Harry asked again, rage beginning to seep into his voice.</p><p>“Tom Marvolo Riddle.” The now named Tom answered as he wrote out his name in flaming letters. “But you know me by a different name.” With a wave of the wand in his hand the letters rearranged themselves to spell ‘I am Lord Voldemort’.</p><p>“Voldemort?” Harry questioned before staring coldly at the teen. “Hagrid said you might still be alive somewhere, if only barely. But you’re far too young to be the real Voldemort. Who are you really?”</p><p>“Ah, but I am Voldemort! The greatest Wizard to ever live!” Tom smiled darkly. “More specifically I am a memory; a remnant of Voldemort, kept safe in a book should anything happen to my body. Now tell me, Harry Potter, how is it that some infant stopped the greatest Dark Lord to ever live?”</p><p>“No idea, but I’m going to have to ask you to die again.” Harry bit out as he pointed his prototype sword at the teen.</p><p>“A sword? Really Harry, how very Muggle.” Tom scoffed derisively. “You cannot harm this body. I am only a memory, until her life fades and I am restored, nothing can harm me.”</p><p>“I’m still willing to try.” Harry snarled as he took a step forward. Tom waved the wand in his hand and a bright bolt of yellow sparks flew at Harry. Without a thought Harry swung his prototype sword. The yellow spell spilt in two and dispersed without touching Harry.</p><p>“What?!” Tom stared in shock. “What is that sword? What did you do?!”</p><p>“The same thing I’m going to do to you!” Harry snapped at the shade, specter, memory or whatever the hell he claimed to be.</p><p>“I think not!” Tom retorted before facing the large face on the wall and hissing at it. The mouth of the stone face opened and Harry heard something moving. From the mouth of the statue emerged a truly massive serpent. Dark black-green scales, a long sinuous body, small horn-like protrusion on the back of the head, a mouth full of fangs including two large retractable ones, and the bright yellow eyes that gazed at everything in the Chamber.</p><p>“So it was a Basilisk.” Harry intoned. If he hadn’t still been so angry he might have questioned why Colin or Penny hadn’t died upon seeing the serpent. The thought didn’t even cross his mind though.</p><p>“Yes, the Basilisk, the greatest of all serpents! Now you will die down here, Harry Potter. I will be restored and continue my path as the Greatest Wizard to ever live; and you will be forgotten, merely a foot note in my glorious rise.” Tom laughed in a way that Harry felt wasn’t quite sane. Tom then hissed at the Basilisk and the King of Serpents turned its baleful yellow eyes on the boy. Harry felt irritation in his eyes, like they were a bit dry, as well as a small headache; but otherwise nothing else happened.</p><p>“Well these work better than anticipated, must be the second layer of protection.” Harry mused to himself.</p><p>“How?! How are you not dead?” Tom demanded as he stared at the still living Second Year.</p><p>“You think I’m wearing these goggles for fashion?” Harry asked rhetorically. The Basilisk made a loud hiss and looked Harry directly in the eyes. The irritation and headache got a bit stronger but Harry now knew the first thing he was going to take out his seething rage on.</p><p>“Kill him!” Tom yelled without the hissing this time.</p><p>“I’m going to turn you into materials for my work!” Harry roared at the large serpent. He didn’t expect to have the massive Basilisk hiss back at him. A strange feeling overcame Harry for a moment; he couldn’t quite describe it though. But he knew for a fact that the Basilisk had just laid claim on his flesh and Magic should he die. Something snapped into place in Harry’s awareness and he suddenly realized what had just happened. A Rite of Conquest had just been formed and the loser would have their life, flesh, and Magic taken by the winner.</p><p>The Basilisk reared up higher and Harry realized that it was going to launch itself forward to strike at him. He breathed deeply before exhaling a massive cloud of smoke. The thick cloud made the serpent hesitate as it lost track of its target. Worse still the smoke was still billowing outwards, filling up more and more of the Chamber. A sudden force hitting the Basilisk’s body had the snake whipping its head around to try and see through the smoke covering the floor.</p><p>‘That didn’t work.’ Harry cursed in his mind as his prototype sword bounced off the large, thick scales of the Basilisk. Spells wouldn’t do anything to a Basilisk’s scales and hide. They had incredible Magic Resistance and were apparently hard enough to act as armor for the serpent.</p><p>“Nothing you do will work, Harry Potter. You can only run and hide!” Tom crowed loudly enjoying the struggles of the Second Year. Harry had already cast the Impervious Charm on his face to keep the smoke from filling his lungs, but without a way to kill the Basilisk the shade was right. The Basilisk began to thrash around the smoke cloud, trying to strike Harry with its long body and disperse the thick smoke. Harry ran from the wild thrashing and could hear that Voldemort shade laughing at his misfortune. Harry conjured up multiple Lumos Charms, all different colors, and sent them above the smoke. With a thought the Charms began to flash brightly and then dim; over and over again, rapidly switching from blindingly bright to mostly dim. The Basilisk hissed loudly as it closed its large eyes and thrashed its body around. Tom covered his own eyes from the blinding lights and therefore didn’t notice Harry charging towards him.</p><p>“Shut your bloody mouth!” Harry roared at the shade as he swung his prototype sword and sliced through the specter.</p><p>“How?!” Tom screeched as his form wavered momentarily. “What is that?!” He demanded angrily still having to cover his eyes from the flaring lights.</p><p>“Damn it, that didn’t work.” Harry angrily bit out only to run as the Basilisk rushed towards him. The long tongue flicking out of its mouth, smelling the air and letting the King of Serpents track him down. Harry hurriedly dashed around the snake statues and the Basilisk crashed into them. The snake reared back, shaking its head and letting out another loud hiss. Harry saw his chance; a large fireball snapped into existence above the Second Year’s hand and he launched it into the Basilisk’s opened mouth. The flames exploded into the snake’s mouth eliciting pained screeches from the beast as it flailed in pain.</p><p>A burst of flames appeared near the ceiling and a beautiful trilling song filled the Chamber. Looking up Harry spotted a Phoenix, at least it looked like one from the books he’d read at Hagrid’s recommendation, though the oddest thing was that the bird was carrying the old Sorting Hat in its talons.</p><p>“What is this?!” Tom snarled as he looked up at the Phoenix while the Basilisk had dunked its head into one of the nearby pools to deal with the flames and burns inside its mouth. The Phoenix circled the Chamber trilling its beautiful and uplifting song before dropping the Sorting Hat next to Harry. Harry didn’t know what to make of this but grabbed the Hat and ran from the Basilisk as it pulled its’ head from the water.</p><p>“Why are you here?” Harry demanded of the Hat as he ducked behind another snake statue.</p><p>“You are defending the school; as such there is something that must be delivered to you.” The Sorting Hat spoke and Harry felt something within the hat. Grabbing the object, Harry pulled on what felt like a handle. What emerged from the Sorting Hat was a brilliant silvery sword. The guard decorated with rubies and a name engraved into the metal.</p><p>“Gryffindor? Is this what I think it is?” Harry asked the Sorting Hat as he ran to another statue. The Basilisk slithered towards him with speed, intent on crushing him it seemed.</p><p>“Yes, the Sword of Gryffindor, only a true Champion of Hogwarts can wield this sword in defense of the School.” The Sorting Hat informed him.</p><p>“Great, but I don’t even know how to use one sword, much less two!” Harry exclaimed as he moved between the statues keeping the Basilisk from rushing him. Harry didn’t get any more time to think however; the Basilisk had reared up over the statue and was descending on him, jaws wide open to devour him. “Fuck!” Harry swore as he thrust the Sword of Gryffindor upwards. The legendary blade just so happened to be in his right hand at the time. As a right handed person Harry’s natural reaction to use his dominant hand drove the sword into the serpent’s mouth. Harry hit the ground as the Basilisk’s weight came down on him. His whole arm was inside the snake’s mouth and he felt one of the smaller fangs puncture his arm. The snake flailed its tail and slumped over the statue, but the damage was already done. The Sword of Gryffindor had pierced through the top of the Basilisk’s mouth and lodged into its brain. Harry pulled his arm out of the jaws of the now dead Serpent King, taking the sword with him. The silvery blade was covered in blood and a blackish liquid that Harry couldn’t identify.</p><p>“No! No!” Tom yelled at seeing the Basilisk dead.</p><p>“Bloody hell, this hurts!” Harry growled as an intensely painful feeling crept up his arm from the puncture that the smaller fang had left. With some effort, Harry stood up and staggered multiple steps forward.</p><p>“You may have slain the Basilisk, Harry Potter, but it’s a pyrrhic victory at best!” Tom cackled at seeing the injury on Harry’s arm. The Second Year still struggled forward looking the shade in the eyes defiantly. “How does it feel, I wonder, to have the most potent venom in the world coursing through your veins?”</p><p>“Shut…up….” Harry panted as his steps grew shaky and his vision began to blur.</p><p>“Ah yes, a moment of silence for the soon to be departed, how apropos Harry.” Tom chuckled humorlessly.</p><p>“I…said…shut…UP!” Harry roared as he swung his prototype sword downward. He couldn’t feel his right arm anymore, so he could only lash out with his left, the prototype sword in hand. The dull blade slammed down onto the black book on the floor between Ginny and Tom.</p><p>“Argh!” Tom screamed as a line appeared on his almost corporeal body. “What did you do?! What is that sword?!” He snarled as he raised the wand in his hand.</p><p>“Sod off!” Harry growled out as he stabbed the tip of his sword into the book.</p><p>“Nooo!” Tom howled as a gaping hole appeared in his torso, the shade losing any form of solidity as the wand fell from its incorporeal hands. Harry collapsed onto his knees and forced himself to raise his left arm again. “Stop!” Tom demanded as he held out his hands towards Harry.</p><p>“Don’t you ever touch her again!” Harry spat at the wispy shade as he slammed the tip of his prototype sword down on the book again. He felt a strange amount of resistance at first before his prototype pierced the book entirely. The shade exploded into wisps of blackness that dispersed near instantly. What happened next shocked even Harry’s venom muddled mind. His prototype sword fell apart in his hand, not into pieces, but into inert sand-like bits of metal. The entire sword practically turned into dust while he was holding it. Nothing was left as Harry collapsed to the ground.</p><p>“What the…?” Harry tried to speak but collapsed and started to black out. A sudden flapping was heard vaguely through his fuzzy senses before something fell onto his wound. Harry couldn’t describe what happened next, one moment he was in absolute agony, the next he felt as if there was cool water running through his veins. Several moments later, or was it minutes? Harry couldn’t even begin to tell, but he felt much better than he did before he collapsed. Sitting up heavily Harry looked over and saw the Phoenix standing beside him. The majestic bird cocked its head slightly and Harry vaguely recalled reading about this.</p><p>“Phoenix Tears, right….” Harry breathed out as he gently stroked the bird’s head. “Thanks for the save.” He thanked the Phoenix kindly and the bird seemed to puff up slightly at the thanks. “I couldn’t have a bit more for research purposes could I?” He joked and the Phoenix trilled out a, slightly less beautiful, note. “I’ll take that as a no then.” Looking over the Sword of Gryffindor, Harry admired the legendary blade. Even with the blood and black ichor on it, the blade was still amazing. “Hey, Sorting Hat, what should I do with this?”</p><p>“As the one who drew it from the Hat, you may hold onto it for as long as you need.” The Sorting Hat replied.</p><p>“What if someone takes it?” Harry questioned. He’d love to look over the sword and try to learn what he could from it. It would only help his own attempts to create his Artifact Sword.</p><p>“Until someone truly ‘Claims’ the Sword; it will always be able to return to my care.” The Sorting Hat informed the Second Year.</p><p>“So only a direct descendant of Gryffindor or Erdunn?” Harry asked and the Hat seemed to perk up.</p><p>“Correct, Mr. Potter, I am surprised you know that.” The Sorting Hat acknowledged.</p><p>“I met a Dwarf a few months ago.” Harry shrugged before he grinned. “I think I’ll hold onto it for a short time.”</p><p>“As you will.” The Sorting Hat gave its equivalent to a shrug. Harry hurriedly pulled out his Invisibility Cloak and wrapped the sword of Gryffindor in it, rendering the legendary blade invisible. He tucked the invisible sword into the inside of his robe, the large inner pocket on the left side actually holding almost half the length of the blade. Just keeping his left arm pressed against his side slightly would prevent the sword from falling.</p><p>“What’s going on?” Ginny spoke up from behind him a moment later and Harry turned to face her.</p><p>“I fixed the problem.” Harry replied to the confused red head. Suddenly there were voices coming from further back the way Harry had entered the Chamber. Almost faster than Harry could process Aurors came pouring into the Chamber of Secrets. Amelia Bones and Dumbledore both among them and both zeroing in on the two kids.</p><p>“What’s happened here?” Amelia asked gently, though with undertones of urgency. Dumbledore looked between Harry and Ginny, as if trying to discern if either of them needed immediate help.</p><p>“I’m sorry!” Ginny wailed suddenly. “It was Tom! He made me do things! I couldn’t control myself and I started blacking out and…and….” By this point the redhead was bawling and incomprehensible.</p><p>The next few minutes were a whirlwind of activity for Harry. He told Amelia and Dumbledore what had happened, minus the part about the Sword of Gryffindor. After all the Phoenix and the Sorting Hat had disappeared without Harry even noticing at some point; so why even hint that he had the legendary blade before he could try and study it a bit. It wasn’t until his least favorite Professor loudly spoke up that Harry fully focused back on the here and now.</p><p>“Don’t touch the Basilisk! It’s property of Hogwarts!” Snape yelled at a group of Aurors that had been examining the beast’s carcass. Even from a distance Harry could see the look of delight that Snape had on his face at what was most assuredly a bevy of incredibly rare Potions ingredients.</p><p>“Actually it belongs to me!” Harry spoke loudly and Snape turned to face him so fast the man’s greasy hair whipped around.</p><p>“Potter! Stop spouting nonsense! This creature has been living under Hogwarts for centuries, it belongs to the school!” Snape raised his voice.</p><p>“I ‘Conquered’ it! It belongs to me by Magical Rite!” Harry retorted and Snape looked like he’d been slapped.</p><p>“Stop lying, Potter!” Snape replied stiffly.</p><p>“I’m sure this can be cleared up quickly.” Dumbledore stepped between the two. “I do happen to know the proper spell to determine Magical Ownership.”</p><p>“Please do, Headmaster.” Harry readily agreed. No way was he losing out on all of the materials that the Basilisk presented! A few waves of his wand, followed by a rather intricate series of loops and flicks, and the Basilisk and Harry both glowed with a green light for a moment before it faded away.</p><p>“It would seem that Mr. Potter is correct, Severus, the Basilisk is his by Rite of Conquest. To take even a single scale from the beast would be considered theft.” Dumbledore informed the dour Potions Master. Snape made a face that was between a sneer and the look of someone that had just been slapped. It was an odd expression to say the least.</p><p>“I’ll need to contact Sirius.” Harry spoke up as he looked the massive serpent over. “Going to need to bring in professionals to move this and render it down.”</p><p>“What will you do with it all, Mr. Potter?” Dumbledore questioned. “If you don’t mind me asking, of course.”</p><p>“It’ll become materials for my Enchanting.” Harry informed the old man.</p><p>“What of the flesh? I don’t believe that can be used for Enchanting.” Dumbledore looked at the boy.</p><p>“Snake is edible, right?” Harry questioned as he looked up at the old man.</p><p>“Some species are, I believe.” Dumbledore nodded. “You’re planning to eat it? Why?”</p><p>“Spite mostly.” Harry replied honestly, while glaring at the carcass. “It could have killed Penny.” Dumbledore wasn’t sure whether to be relieved that Harry cared about Miss Clearwater so much, or if he should be worried for the same reason.</p><p>
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  <strong>Treasure trove of Creature Craft Materials acquired! Harry only almost died to get revenge for Penny, so that’s still good news, right? Plus the Sword of Gryffindor is in Harry’s possession for the foreseeable future. What are his plans for the legendary blade? Well you’ll find out if you keep reading!</strong>
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  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
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<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Restoration and an Invitation</h2></a>
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  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Basilisk is dead, Second Year is almost done, what can happen this summer?</strong>
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  <strong>Chapter 19 – Restoration and an Invitation</strong>
</p><p>Harry headed for the Hospital Wing as soon as he’d stopped being questioned by the Aurors. Dumbledore had taken Ginny to his office where her parents were waiting. Harry quickly reached the Wing and entered, he found Penny sitting up in bed and looking a little confused at how she’d gotten there. Madam Pomfrey appeared to be talking to the blonde Prefect, but Harry couldn’t care less. The Second Year rushed to Penny’s bedside and pulled the older girl into a hug.</p><p>“Harry?” Penny questioned as she was hugged.</p><p>“I’m glad you’re alright, Penny, so glad.” Harry murmured into the hug. Penny softly smiled as she returned his hug.</p><p>“Madam Pomfrey says I’ll be fine.” Penny assured him as they continued to hold each other.</p><p>“I was saying that,” Pomfrey nodded before looking crossly at Harry. “Until a certain someone came barreling into the Wing and interrupted me.”</p><p>“Sorry.” Harry mumbled out as he refused to let go of Penny.</p><p>“So what happened after I was petrified?” Penny asked. “The last thing I remember was a pair of large, bright yellow eyes reflecting off the water on the floor of the second floor corridor.”</p><p>“I fixed the problem, Penny.” Harry finally pulled back. “The Basilisk in the Chamber is dead.”</p><p>“It was a Basilisk?” Penny questioned before what Harry said caught up with her. “Wait, what do you mean ‘You’ fixed the problem?” Harry suddenly felt like he’d said too much. “Harry…please tell me you didn’t go off half-cocked and charge into the Chamber of Secrets by yourself!”</p><p>“It wasn’t half-cocked; I had a plan…sort of.” Harry defended his actions.</p><p>“It sounds like you took revenge on my behalf.” Penny raised an eyebrow at him.</p><p>“I…well…that’s…that’s about right, I guess.” Harry admitted with an exhale of breath. “I was so angry when I saw you petrified, my Occlumency kept me from going off entirely, but I went and got some of my things and then headed for the Chamber. Your theory about where it was hidden was spot on, by the way. I thought that you’d been attacked because you’d gotten too close.”</p><p>“Harry, you could have died!” Penny chastised even as she pulled him into a hug and held him tightly. “I was only petrified. It hasn’t even been a full day and I’ve already been cured with Mandrake Draught. But if you had died then you would be gone! What would that have solved?”</p><p>“I know…I was just so angry…I barely thought….” Harry returned the hug and sighed at the familiar warmth of Penny.</p><p>“Don’t risk your life on something like revenge, Harry.” Penny mumbled into his hair. “I’d rather just have you here with me.”</p><p>“Penny?” Harry pulled back and blinked at the Prefect. He was no expert, but that almost sounded like a confession.</p><p>“What you did was reckless and poorly thought out,” Penny admonished before her expression softened and a warmth entered her eyes as she smiled. “But thank you for caring about me so much, Harry.” With that the Prefect’s lips met Harry’s in a brief kiss before she pulled back. Harry felt…well…he didn’t quite know. He was happy, elated even, but also confused and he kind of wanted to do that again.</p><p>“That was…um…wow.” Harry stumbled over his words a bit.</p><p>“Glad you think so.” Penny giggled before she tapped his nose with her index finger. “But I’m still telling Tonks what you did too!” She teased.</p><p>“Please don’t….” Harry ‘whined’, already knowing that Tonks would blow the whole incident out of proportion. She tended to overreact when her friends and family were involved. He’d be lucky if she didn’t practically smother him for a good week once she learned of his ‘revenge’ for Penny.</p><p>“I’m going to.” Penny grinned at him while Harry sighed. With a delightful giggle Penny pulled him back into a hug and the two just sat together and held each other for a while. Harry mirror called Sirius several minutes later and explained the situation. Including the need for professionals to move and render the Basilisk for parts and meat. Sirius was less than pleased to hear that Harry had risked his life and was already planning to Floo to Hogwarts to berate him for it. AFTER he finished giving Dumbledore a piece of his mind for this whole Chamber business!</p><p>So it went that Harry was scolded by a worried Sirius for the better part of an hour. His Godfather moving through various emotions throughout his admonishment; bouncing between worried, concerned, irritated, proud, and several others. Harry agreed not to put himself in such danger again and Sirius nearly hugged the life out of him. Sirius had promised to get professionals to retrieve the Basilisk and start rendering it down before he left. With the Chamber fiasco over with, the school resumed normal activity and routines; the only interruptions being the Aurors leaving and the arrival of the ‘Renderers’ the next day. All of Hogwarts had stood back and gaped at ‘Slytherin’s Monster’ when the Renderers had hauled it out of the school on multiple floating boards. The sheer size of the Basilisk had made more than one student shriek in terror. Many people knew that Harry had some involvement with the beast’s death and mad mental notes to never get on his bad side.</p><p>“Oh Harrikins~” Tonks had sweetly called out when she arrived shortly after the ‘Renderers’ had left. Harry had felt like bolting at the look on Tonks’ face but resolved himself to face his friend’s worried wrath. That had lasted for a good half hour with Tonks alternating between hugging him tightly and scolding him for doing something so insanely dangerous that not even Tonks herself would attempt it! Tonks had been very reluctant to leave Hogwarts and let Harry out of her sight; but Penny had managed to convince her after some time. Harry fell face first into his bed that night, mentally drained from the whole day.</p><p>It was discovered that Lockhart had fled sometime during Ginny’s abduction into the Chamber. The bumbling peacock of a Professor having been a bigger coward than Harry had previously thought. This was saying something as Harry had already had a low opinion of the man to begin with. Dumbledore had, once again, had to step in and cover the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes for the end of the year. Harry and Penny wouldn’t find out until much later that the man’s running from Hogwarts had prompted an investigation into him. An investigation that had uncovered illegal Memory Charms and the lies he’d published to further embellish the achievements he’d stolen.</p><p>-June 20<sup>th</sup>-</p><p>“Hmm, what’ve you brought me Hedwig?” Harry asked his Snowy Owl as she landed next to him at breakfast. The beautiful owl raised her leg to let Harry remove the letter and then helped herself to some of his breakfast before flying off to the Owlery. Turning the letter over Harry smiled at seeing the neat writing of Fleur Delacour. Opening the letter Harry read over the first page as best as he could, since it was in French. Harry had asked Fleur to write to him in both French and English a while back to help him practice. Fleur had agreed as it helped her practice her English as well. Harry still had a bit of trouble with some of the sentences and switched over to the English copy on the second page to check his own comprehension.</p><p>-Letter-</p><p>Bonjour Harry,</p><p>How have you been since our last letters? I have been well enough. Fifth Year at Beauxbatons hasn’t been much of a challenge. My Exams have gone well, O.W.L.s were slightly nerve inducing but I feel I’ve done well on them. I hope your own Exams have proven easy for you.</p><p>How have your Enchanting projects been working out? You told me the ‘Auror Baton’ had been given a trial run with Ms. Tonks in the field. I hope that is still going well. The ‘Ward Breakers’ you mentioned sounded so interesting I asked Madam Aveline about the concept. She was very interested and we had an in depth discussion over the facets of Warding in relation to Magical Theory and Spell Crafting. I hope all of your projects are coming along well.</p><p>Incidentally, I have finally achieved the goal I set for myself this year when it came to my Mana Level. As of writing this letter to you I have finally surpassed 6,000 Mana. I was overjoyed to see my reading and know that all of my practice had paid off. Madam Aveline won’t share the exact Mana Levels of the other students with me; but she assures me that I’m one of the most magically powerful students in Beauxbatons.</p><p>Since the summer break is coming up I have been given permission from my mother and father to invite you and your Godfather over to our home. I hope you’ll consider visiting so that we may meet in person for the first time. France is lovely in the summer months, I assure you. I hope for a favorable reply!</p><p>I eagerly await your next letter, Harry!</p><p>Sincerely,</p><p>Fleur Delacour</p><p>-Letter-</p><p>“Hmm, that could be interesting.” Harry murmured to himself.</p><p>“Another letter from Fleur?” Penny asked. “Were you able to read the whole thing in French this time, you have been improving.”</p><p>“Almost all of it.” Harry grinned. “A few words still stump me from time to time.”</p><p>“If you ever want to work on it more, I’m available.” Penny smiled at him. She’d been helping Harry with his French during their breaks from Wandless practice for months now.</p><p>“Thank you, Penny.” Harry smiled back. “Fleur hit her goal that I told you about.”</p><p>“She broke six thousand?” Penny questioned looking impressed. “She beat me to it. I was at 5,664 when I checked the other day.”</p><p>“Fleur has a knack for Magic, especially Fire Magic. She’s a Veela so I’m guessing it’s natural.” Harry shrugged as he folded the letter and placed it inside his robe pocket.</p><p>“What was your last reading, Harry?” Penny asked curiously. “It’s been a while since you’ve checked to my knowledge.”</p><p>“It has been a while.” Harry admitted with a nod. “We studied for Exams quite a bit after all. Plus I’ve been looking into the ‘loss’ of my prototype as well as researching the ‘other’ sword.”</p><p>“I still wonder about that.” Penny shifted in her seat. “It’s an important piece for the school, but you were told you could hold onto it. I guess I’m a bit conflicted, especially after what you told me about your meeting Mr. Erdunn.”</p><p>“Just Erdunn.” Harry tried to imitate the Dwarf’s deep voice and failed. Penny giggled at his attempt though. “I don’t plan to keep it forever; I just want enough time to look it over and learn all I can about it. Though it is very good at hiding most of its secrets; I think I might be able to figure out part of the Enchantments woven into the metal.”</p><p>“Well, then let’s head to the workshop after breakfast and check your Mana Level.” Penny suggested and Harry agreed.</p><p>“Maybe that feeling I’ve gotten from eating the Basilisk meat means I’ve gained some of its Magic?” Harry laughed at the notion.</p><p>“I still don’t see how you’re eating that thing.” Penny’s nose scrunched up. “It doesn’t even sound good.”</p><p>“Tayla has been cooking it in various different ways for me. I don’t want her efforts to go to waste.” Harry shook his head. Tayla had been over the moon to have to learn how to cook something new like snake. The cheerful House Elf had been ‘popping’ into Hogwarts to deliver him lunch in his workshop on specified days. So far the meat had been palatable and with some recipes actually tasty. He’d had a bit of a ‘rush’ when he’d eaten the first part of the Basilisk meat, something he assumed came from the Rite of Conquest, but hadn’t really worried about since he’d felt really good afterwards. He’d had no further ‘rushes’ since the first time, but he did always feel something when he ate the Basilisk meat. Though he couldn’t be sure if that wouldn’t always happen regardless, when a Witch or Wizard ate the meat of a Magical Creature.</p><p>The two finished their breakfast a short time later and left the Great Hall together. The familiar path through the castle was second nature to both of them now and they arrived quickly. After closing the door behind them, harry went to his desk/worktable and opened the drawer he kept his Test Frame in. Taking it in both hands Harry poured his mana into the Talisman. The number displayed wasn’t what Harry was expecting however, and it must have shown on his face as Penny spoke up.</p><p>“Harry? Are you okay? You look shocked.” Penny worried and Harry shook his head for a second before turning the Frame around to show her his reading. Displayed in the Frame with the standard ‘light’ numbers was the reading 5,160.</p><p>“This…I’m sure it’s part of the Rite of Conquest. It’s probably some kind of Ritual Symbolism being completed when I first ate the meat of the Basilisk.” Harry reasoned as he looked over his new reading. That was a massive increase for him to say the least!</p><p>“But wouldn’t you feel your mana growing by that much?” Penny questioned at Harry’s large increase.</p><p>“Do you actually feel your mana grow?” Harry asked her in return.</p><p>“Well…no…now that you mention it.” Penny looked thoughtful as she puzzled over what they’d realized. “So we don’t notice growth unless we try to use spells more often and see that we can cast more. Or we check it with the Scouter or Test Frames, of course.”</p><p>“Seems to be the case.” Harry nodded as he pondered. “Maybe because it’s our new ‘normal’ we simply don’t realize. We do realize when we use a large amount of mana of course; the drop in our reserves brings about a feeling of lethargy.”</p><p>“Do you think you’ll keep getting this boost as you eat more of the Basilisk?” Penny wondered and Harry shook his head.</p><p>“I feel a small bit of ‘something’ every time I eat the meat, but nothing like the first time.” Harry remembered. “I think that was the majority of what I could gain right there. I suspect the Rite of Conquest is something like a Ritual or Contract made between two Magical Beings from a challenge between them. When I consumed the first part of the Basilisk I gained a portion of its mana all at once and the repeated eating will only give me miniscule boosts, if any, from now on. Ritual Symbolism of taking in the Basilisk was completed the first time, so that’s probably the ‘rush’ I felt. I should have looked into it sooner, I partially believed that rush came from satisfying my own spite against the snake for petrifying you.”</p><p>“Harry, that’s…sweet…in a weird way; but you should have definitely gotten checked out if you felt this ‘rush’ when you ate the Basilisk.” Penny sighed, though she looked downwards to hide the pink on her cheeks at how much Harry cared about her. “What if it had been something bad?”</p><p>“Well I felt really good afterwards, so I kind of put it out of my mind.” Harry shrugged and Penny shook her head at his lackadaisical attitude about this.</p><p>“Well, at least this time it was something positive.” Penny smiled, that smile then turned mischievous as she looked at Harry. “We could pull a little prank on Tonks with this, you know?”</p><p>“Pranks Penny? Really?” Harry had a fake shocked look on his face. “What happened to our rule abiding Prefect? The future Head Girl shouldn’t be involved in such shenanigans!”</p><p>“So you don’t want to play a little prank on Tonks?” Penny questioned sarcastically.</p><p>“Well now I didn’t say that.” Harry smiled mischievously himself. “What did you have in mind?” The two friends spent the next while going over their idea to prank the final member of their little trio.</p><p>-The Next Weekend ~ June 26<sup>th</sup>-</p><p>“Still so secretive.” Harry murmured to himself as he looked over the Sword of Gryffindor. The Dwarves certainly knew how to hide their secrets in the metal they forged, that was for certain. He’d been looking over the legendary sword for almost a full month now and had only just gleaned a bit of knowledge from examining it. He knew the rubies he’d thought were ‘decorative’ were actually linked to the sword’s power. Perhaps the ‘True’ power that Drad Erdunn had briefly hinted at. The metal was most assuredly an alloy of Magical Steel and what appeared to be Adamantite. Though Harry suspected that another Magical Metal had been forged into the alloy as well, he couldn’t identify it.</p><p>“But what I’m really looking for is how your Magical Ability works.” Harry spoke to the sword. “How do you ‘take in’ things that make you stronger? What constitutes as ‘stronger’ anyway? Is it just any ability or function you don’t already possess?” The sword, of course, didn’t answer him but Harry picked it up and briefly ran his mana through the Artifact Sword. By feeling out the weapon’s reaction to his mana he should, hopefully, be able to glean a bit of information about its Magical Properties. This was a ‘Skill’ that he was still learning and fine-tuning, but it was essential to become a good Artificer.</p><p>Feeling with his mana as it flowed into the sword Harry sank into the equivalent of an Occlumency trance. He slowly felt through the sword, touching its own innate Magic and feeling how it responded. The sword was ‘closed off’ for lack of a better term. His mana could be focused to the edge of the blade to increase sharpness; the blade itself was also greatly resistant to damage of both physical and magical nature. Continuing his ‘feeling’ of the sword’s Magic, Harry did find something new this time. The blade seemed to have a small ‘vortex’ of mana near the guard. So miniscule that even after several of these sessions he’d never noticed it. Letting his mana touch the ‘vortex’ Harry felt his mana be drawn into the depths of the sword. Before he could try to follow this small bit of his mana it was ‘spat out’ for all it amounted to and the vortex seemed to disappear.</p><p>“Well now, isn’t that interesting.” Harry grinned as he set the sword down on the work table in the smithy. He exited the smithy into the main room of his hidden workshop and pulled down the most advanced book on Runecraft he currently had. If he was right this book might be able to tell him what the ‘vortex’ of the Sword of Gryffindor was. Flipping through the pages Harry stopped near the back and looked at what he believed to be the most likely candidate for the sword’s Magical Ability; or at least what made up the basis of it. “The ‘Consume’ Array.” He smiled at the complex description of the Array. That was all this book had on the Array, a very complex description of what it did. There were no examples or even any concrete Runic Sequences that went into making said Array. Just an overview of what it did and how it functioned in relation to Branches of Magic like, Warding, Enchanting, and Ritual Magic.</p><p>“Looks like it’ll be a good long while before I’m able to put something like this together.” Harry mused as he read over the entry on the ‘Consume’ Array. “I might end up hurting myself or others if I messed up with this one.”</p><p>-June 30<sup>th</sup> ~ Leaving Feast-</p><p>Harry, Penny, Luna, and Padma clapped politely for Hufflepuff, this year’s winner of the House Cup. The House of Yellow and Black were cheering at having won the Cup for the first time in nine years. Admittedly this might have been due to the tensions that arose this year between Gryffindor and Slytherin over the Chamber of Secrets. Many a fight had broken out between the two Houses when accusations had been thrown about between them.</p><p>The ride on the Express was fun. Luna sat with Harry and Penny for the ride and happily watched as the two performed Wandless Magic. The Trio separated at King’s Cross Station and Harry and Penny were met by Sirius, Tonks, and Penny’s father Edward.</p><p>“Good to see you, Harry!” Sirius smiled brightly as he pulled his Godson into a hug. “Penny keeping you out of trouble?” He teased.</p><p>“Unlike ‘some’ people, I don’t get in trouble at school.” Harry retorted and Sirius chuckled while ruffling his hair.</p><p>“Wotcher, Harrikins!” Tonks practically smothered him with her hug.</p><p>“Tonks, Harry and I wanted you to guess how much Harry has developed his Mana Levels this year.” Penny told the Metamorph after hugging her father tightly. “Harry has been busy this year.”</p><p>“Hmm, is that so Harry?” Tonks put her face very close to Harry’s with a teasing grin. “Well I know you haven’t eclipsed me yet. Not to brag, much, but I got a reading of 6,422 this morning.”</p><p>“Well then, how about you guess?” Harry grinned challengingly. “A free Stinging Hex to me if you’re within one hundred points of my level. If you’re not, I get a free Stinging Hex on you.”</p><p>“Oh, someone’s confident are they?” Tonks grinned back at him. “I accept your bet!” Penny and Harry both forced themselves not to smirk at Tonks walking right into their prank. It was a bet the Metamorph wouldn’t be able to win! She’d never expect the boost Harry had gotten from the Basilisk and the Rite of Conquest.</p><p>“Whenever you’re ready?” Harry grinned, knowing it would rile Tonks up a little.</p><p>“You were only around two thousand the last time you told me.” Tonks began as she looked contemplative. “Harrikins usually splits his time between Wandless Magic and Enchanting, unlike me who’s always getting stronger.” She teased with a wink. “So if it’s been almost half a year, a little less, then I’m going to ballpark you around an even three thousand since you’re so confident!”</p><p>“Penny, hand me the Test Frame.” Harry requested with a smile.</p><p>“Here you are, Harry.” Penny replied in a chipper tone.</p><p>“Oh sorry, Tonks, looks like you were a bit off.” Harry grinned as he poured his mana into the Test Frame and got his reading. He turned it around and both Tonks’ and Sirius’ eyes went wide at the number displayed.</p><p>“How the heck are you at 5,172?!” Tonks exclaimed and Penny and Harry burst into laughter. “Stop laughing and explain, you prats!”</p><p>“First my prize!” Harry exclaimed as he hit Tonks in the shin with a Stinging Hex.</p><p>“Ow! Darn it, Harry!” Tonks censored herself as a family with small children walked by.</p><p>“Ah, victory, such a lovely feeling.” Harry teased her back. Penny was openly giggling at her older friend while Edward and Sirius both looked amused at the antics between the three.</p><p>“Less gloating more explaining.” Tonks huffed at them and the two told Tonks, Sirius, and Edward about Harry’s Rite of Conquest and the ‘Ritual Empowerment’ he’d received from eating the Basilisk.</p><p>“Only you Harry, I swear only you.” Sirius chuckled as he patted his Godson’s shoulder. Edward congratulated him on ‘Conquering’ such a powerful Magical Beast. Tonks just grumbled about Penny and Harry setting her up. Penny hugged Harry tightly as they said their goodbyes and then left with her father. Tonks, in revenge, kissed Harry’s cheeks in front of the remaining students on the platform before Apparating away. This left a red faced Harry looking at a lot of staring classmates.</p><p>“Let’s go.” Harry spoke as he turned away from the Hogwarts students and headed for the Floo.</p><p>“I think you two tied today, Harry.” Sirius offered his commentary on the ongoing ‘Prank War’ between his Godson and Tonks. “Though I believe that still puts Tonks ahead by a wide margin!” He laughed as Harry started and then walked faster towards the Floo.</p><p>“Shush you!” Harry threw back over his shoulder. This of course only made Sirius laugh harder. The two quickly returned to Wood End Cottage in a flash of green fire.</p><p>
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  <strong>Well now…didn’t see that coming! Harry got a boost! Ancient Magic is odd and pseudo-Rituals even more so. Plus Harry’s learning another aspect of being an Artificer, the ability to commune with Artifacts or their innate Magic at any rate. This will most definitely come into play multiple times throughout the story! How will this summer play out? Especially since Harry has been invited to visit his Pen Pal, the lovely Miss Fleur Delacour!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Keep reading to find out!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong> <span class="u">Current Mana Levels</span> </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Harry – 5,172</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Tonks – 6,422</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Penelope – 5,670</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Fleur – 6,000+</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Crafting Theories, Summer Trip</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Some Crafting theories and a Summer Trip! Time to meet the lovely Fleur Delacour in person for the first time! Will sparks fly between them?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Chapter 20 – Crafting Theories, Summer Trip</strong>
</p><p>Harry hummed as he mused to himself about the properties of Basilisk Bone versus Dragon Bone. He’d tested their Magical Potential compared to each other and found they were both about the same. The Basilisk Bone, probably due to the creature’s age, had more mana packed into it but the rest of its properties were near identical to Dragon Bone. Because he’d ‘Conquered’ the Basilisk the mana in the bones would not fade for a very long time. This was a good thing because Harry had the whole skeleton to make use of. It would be a shame to lose the materials to time after all. He’d have to run a few more tests with Powdered Basilisk Bone and compare the results to standard Powdered Dragon Bone to be sure; but Harry was confident he could save money on supplies if he didn’t have to buy anymore Powdered Dragon Bone for the foreseeable future.</p><p>Other than that particular theory, Harry was already coming up with ideas for the rest of the Basilisk. The eyes had been recovered and preserved into two separate, unbreakable, crystal containers filled with a Preservation Draught. Harry had to give the ‘Renderers’ credit. The two unbreakable containers had also been spelled to be opaque enough to cancel out any lingering power the Basilisk’s eyes may have possessed. They were both currently sitting in his Rune Safe until Harry could find some way to make use of them. As for the Basilisk’s Scales, Hide, and Fangs; Harry already had some, rather obvious, ideas for these materials. The Horns on the back of the Basilisk’s head would also be used once Harry found a use for them.</p><p>“Decisions, decisions….” Harry mumbled to himself as he looked through his notes on Creature Craft. He’d taken the time to translate all of the Japanese into English and copy it down into a journal devoted to Creature Craft. As he progressed and expanded his skills with this form of Enchanting, Harry was planning to add his own thoughts, experiences, and ideas.</p><p>“Obviously the Scales and Hide can be made into Defensive Items, cloaks or leatherwear for the Hide, outright armor for the Scales.” Harry mused thoughtfully, if he could do this properly he’d have more than enough material to get Nym, Penny, Sirius, and potentially even Nym’s parents and Remus some Basilisk Leather Armor. “The Scales are so strong and Magically Resistant that I might be able to make something along the lines of full Plate Armor. Since I ‘Conquered’ the Basilisk I can even make Artifacts from the materials. Basilisk Scale Mail sounds cool.” The young Artificer nodded to his own thoughts.</p><p>“The Fangs, especially the two retractable ones, can be used to make weapons.” Harry thought aloud as he looked over the notes on Creature Craft. “Swords, knives, maybe the core of a focus of some type too?” He considered as he then looked over to the side to see the Basilisk’s Horns neatly packed into a wooden box in the corner of his smithy at Wood End Cottage. “If possible maybe the horns could be used for cores too? Or at the very least maybe they could be used for a spearhead? That seems simple enough.”</p><p>“Do you think he knows he does that?” Tonks whispered to Penny as the two of them stood in the doorway of the smithy.</p><p>“Probably not, but it’s kind of cute.” Penny smiled at the sight of Harry thinking aloud to himself.</p><p>“Harrikins!” Tonks called loudly making Harry startle at the unexpected voice. “Time to go! We’re taking the Portkey to France soon!” Harry spun to face Tonks and Penny with his hand over his heart.</p><p>“Must you do that?” Harry deadpanned and Tonks smiled as she nodded.</p><p>“Every time!” Tonks teased while Penny gently swatted her shoulder.</p><p>“Rudeness aside, it is time to go Harry. You got caught up in your work again.” Penny explained.</p><p>“Is it that time already?” Harry blinked before looking at the clock on the far wall of his smithy. “Oh, I guess it is; it’s a good thing I packed last night.”</p><p>“Come on Harry, time for a visit to your Third Wife!” Tonks laughed and Harry sputtered out denials.</p><p>“It’s not like that, Nym!” Harry retorted as he followed the two girls out of the smithy.</p><p>“Sure it’s not!” Tonks stuck her tongue out at him. Harry immediately insisted that they were just Pen Pals and that they’d never even met. Tonks just shrugged and Harry sighed at the Metamorph.</p><p>“Be nice Tonks.” Penny smiled softly at the two. They’d technically asked Harry to ask Fleur to ask her parents to invite them along as well. The idea of letting Harry meet a Veela girl that was already writing to Harry about a topic they both enjoyed wasn’t what concerned them. It was the thought of only Sirius being there with Harry! The Lord Black may have been dating Marlie Reed for almost a full year now, but just because he was taken didn’t mean he wouldn’t encourage Harry to make a few Veela ‘friends’ for the future. He may have gotten better after falling for Marlie; but he was still Sirius Black, horn dog extraordinaire! Self-proclaimed ‘Ladies’ Man’ of the Marauders! Both Penny and Tonks felt MUCH better tagging along on this visit.</p><p>“Tayla, could you bring me my bag please?” Harry called out as they made their way to the Portkey departure point. This particular point was in the field off to the side of Wood End Cottage. International Portkeys has to be scheduled after all. Crossing Border magically without informing the relevant Ministries of Magic was illegal after all.</p><p>“Here you are, Young Master Harry.” Tayla smiled brightly as she popped in with the said bag.</p><p>“Thank you Tayla.” Harry smiled at the House Elf making her beam at him before she popped away. Tonks and Penny stopped at the destination and picked up their own bags they’d left there when they went to get Harry.</p><p>“Good morning all!” Sirius smiled brightly as he approached with the Portkey, a length of rope, in hand. He had his own small bag in his left hand and was all smiles. His good mood was in no small part to another date with Marlie just a few days ago. It was the first date he came home very late from in fact. Harry had already been asleep by the time Sirius had returned. The young Artificer wasn’t even going to ponder on the WHY, but he had his suspicions and DIDN’T want them confirmed!</p><p>“Just about time.” Penny looked at her watch.</p><p>“Right, right, grab ahold everyone.” Sirius held out the rope to everyone. Harry, Tonks and Penny grabbed onto the rope and not even a minute later they were whisked away. Harry felt like something had grabbed him behind his stomach and then a sensation of spinning for several moments. When the spinning stopped Harry stumbled and fell onto the grass they’d reappeared on.</p><p>“Someone stop the world.” Harry grumbled as he waited for the disorientation to pass.</p><p>“I hate Portkeys.” Tonks grumbled from where she’d ended up sprawled across the grass.</p><p>“That was…less than pleasant.” Penny agreed though the blonde at least landed on her feet.</p><p>“You get better with experience.” Sirius laughed at the three as he helped Tonks and Harry off the ground.</p><p>“Monsieur Potter, Monsieur Black, Madame Tonks, Madam Clearwater; welcome to Chateau Delacour.” A House Elf greeted them. The little Elf was wearing what looked to be a modified silk curtain and was obviously female. “May Kolly be taking your bags for you?”</p><p>“That would be lovely, thank you Kolly.” Sirius replied with a smile to the Elf. With a snapped all of their bags disappeared and a soft pop saw Kolly vanishing as well.</p><p>“’Arry!” A delightfully warm voice called out and the group turned to the Chateau and saw a girl close to Penny’s age, a year younger according to her letters to Harry, approaching them. With the teen, obviously Fleur, was a woman who looked like an older sister, a slightly plump man with a styled moustache and goatee, and a small girl that couldn’t have been older than seven.</p><p>“Fleur, it is good to finally meet in person.” Harry smiled at his Pen Pal. The picture she’d sent him in one of her earlier letters didn’t do her justice. Seeing her face to face was far better. Fleur smiled at him and kissed both of his cheeks in greeting. Harry tried and failed to keep his cheeks from heating up at the platinum blonde’s greeting. He was pretty sure he heard Sirius and Tonks snickering in the background too!</p><p>“Please, I’d like you to meet my Papa and Maman and my leetle sister!” Fleur smiled happily at him. From there pleasantries and greetings were exchanged. Fleur’s father, Marius Delacour was a pleasant man, he and Sirius quickly got along. Her mother, Appoline Delacour, was the woman that he’d thought might have been an older sister. She was smiling and seemed pleased to meet him and the others. Lastly the young girl was Gabrielle, who happily babbled in rapid fire French. Harry was able to understand a bit of the little girl’s talking, but quickly lost track and was lost.</p><p>“Come in, come in, we’ve a lovely brunch set up!” Marius welcomed them into the Chateau and the four British Magicals followed along. The group was quickly led to a lovely dining room and the spread of food available was impressive to say the least. Sirius had had some of the food before and was comfortable enough to pick out a few favorites. Harry, Penny, and Tonks took what looked good and whatever the Delacours recommended. Harry found he liked the pastry called pain au chocolat. Though that might be because it was a soft bread with chocolate inside.</p><p>“I was very impressed to hear that you’d earned the Title of Artificer so young, Monsieur Potter.” Marius smiled at Harry.</p><p>“I was surprised too.” Harry admitted with a sheepish grin. “You can all call me Harry if you prefer, as well.”</p><p>“You were surprised ‘Arry?” Appoline questioned the Artificer. “Were you not trying to become an Artificer?”</p><p>“I was…I just didn’t expect to stumble into the Title.” Harry smiled as he heard Tonks snickering again.</p><p>“Stumble into?” Fleur questioned with a grin on her face. “That sounds like a story.”</p><p>“Oh I can sum it up pretty easily.” Tonks smiled brightly. “Harry was a bit of a Dum-dum and didn’t realize his completed project qualified as an Artifact.”</p><p>“Tonks….” Harry sighed with an eye roll.</p><p>“It wasn’t until my mother suggested he get it checked out that he realized what he might have created!” Tonks was stifling giggles at this point. Sirius and Penny were both smiling as well, laughter clear in their eyes.</p><p>“I was just trying to finish my Safe.” Harry defended himself. “I wasn’t exactly trying to create an Artifact.” By now everyone was chuckling lightly at the accidental nature of Harry’s first Artifact.</p><p>“A great many advancements are made by mistake or in the pursuit of other goals, Harry, you simply benefitted from such a scenario.” Marius chuckled and Harry had to admit the Frenchman was correct. He’d learned about accidental inventions during his Non-Magical Education. From there talk turned to schooling, then jobs, plans for the future and so on. Fleur wanted to be a Magical Scholar, researching different Branches of Magic, and trying to gain a deeper understanding of the Primordial Force that was Magic. Penny and Fleur clicked quickly after that when Penny mentioned her own interest in Spellcraft.</p><p>“I’m completely outnumbered by nerds.” Tonks playfully jibed at the other three.</p><p>“Maybe nerds are your ‘Type’, then Tonksie.” Sirius teased the Metamorph as he nonchalantly buttered a croissant. Tonks jabbed her finger at him and a Stinging Hex was sent his way. Sirius, having seen this coming, already had his wand in hand and cancelled the Hex with a Finite.</p><p>“Oh my, you can perform Wandless Magic, Auror Tonks?” Appoline blinked in surprise at the use of non-verbal, wandless casting.</p><p>“Yeah, but it’s not my secret to share, so if you were wanting to learn, I’m afraid I can’t help you.” Tonks rubbed the back of her head. She was so used to her circle of friends and family knowing about her Wandless capabilities that she’d gotten used to using her Magic without a second thought.</p><p>“Non, I was merely surprised.” Appoline waved off. “It is not often that you see a Witch or Wizard with the skill to perform much of any Magic without a wand.”</p><p>“I understand.” Tonks nodded. In Europe and North America wands were standard. Only in a few places in the world were different forms of casting taught. Tonks wasn’t one to go out of her way to look up this information. But Penny had looked into it and found that both the most prominent Magical Schools in Africa, Uagadou, and in Japan, Mahoutokoro, taught other forms of Casting. Apparently Wandless Magic wasn’t so much a mystery to other parts of the World. Merely something that took many years of study to perform with any skill. Tonks would take Harry’s method over whatever the other schools were offering though. It hadn’t taken her or Penny years of study and practice, merely coming to a better understanding of their own Magic and how to handle it.</p><p>After the lovely brunch, the adults happily chatted and traded stories, while the younger members went off to have a tour of the Chateau and grounds with Fleur. The Veela girl had happily shown her Pen Pal and the new friends she’d made in Penny and Tonks, around her home. Gabby, as the seven year old had asked to be called, followed along with them and asked her own curious questions in French. After the tour the group was sitting in the large gardens of the Chateau and getting to know each other better. Fleur was ecstatic to find out that all three of her new friends were Occlumens. None of them felt anything from her natural Veela Allure and Fleur was happy to have friends that liked her for her; instead of drooling on themselves or getting jealous or envious. To little Gabby’s amusement Tonks had demonstrated her Metamorphmagus abilities. Changing her face, hair, eyes all to the little Veela girls requests.</p><p>“You’ve created your own spell already?” Fleur asked impressed to Penny.</p><p>“It’s based off a couple of other Charms, but yes.” Penny nodded with a smile. “It can make a bit of a mess though.”</p><p>“Strangely it’s not a form of Fire Magic.” Harry shrugged with a teasing grin. “I’m pretty convinced that she’s a Pyromancer that just likes to dabble in other Spells occasionally.”</p><p>“Oh hush you.” Penny playfully huffed as she poked him with a small ball of mana. Sort of like a Stinging Hex, but without the painful effect.</p><p>“Fire Magic, you say?” Fleur tilted her head and raised her hand. With a small snap a ball of flame appeared above her palm which she held out to them. “I’ve a ‘bit’ of an affinity for that Branch of Magic.” The platinum blonde grinned.</p><p>“Ooh, are we about to have a ‘Magic Off’?” Tonks questioned, looking almost giddy.</p><p>“You sound like you want to show off.” Harry raised an eyebrow.</p><p>“What? Me? No….” Tonks held up her hands as if to ward off his accusation. No one there believed her though.</p><p>“I would not mind a bit of a friendly ‘duel’.” Fleur spoke up. “No one at Beauxbatons is much of a challenge. They either just stare at me until I defeat them or they attack to try and prove something to either me or themselves. Neither is very good for practice as you can imagine. The first isn’t a challenge and the other throws all of their Magic, or mana, behind their first few spells and quickly tires themselves out.”</p><p>“Well I guess, but I’m not the greatest Duelist or anything.” Penny shrugged.</p><p>“Says the girl who threw how many fireballs at me during the Dueling Club?” Harry teased and Penny flicked another mana ball at him. Harry swatted the ball away with his hand and stood up. “I do believe that was a challenge!”</p><p>“Maybe it was.” Penny sniffed in a faux pompous manner.</p><p>“Alright! Free for all!” Tonks cheered with a laugh as she picked up Gabby, making the seven year old giggle happily, and quickly took the young girl further away to a safe distance that she could watch from. The Metamorph reached out with her mana and Transfigured a low stone wall from the dirt. She place Gabby behind the wall and told her, in the limited French she had, to not come out from behind it until they were done. Gabby had happily nodded along to the request, eager to see more Magic.</p><p>“I apologize, but Fire is all I can conjure Wandlessly, so I’ll be using my wand.” Fleur twirled the focus between her fingers before gripping it firmly.</p><p>“That’s more than fine, Fleur.” Harry smiled at his blue eyed friend. “I’m sure Penny will be tossing around enough fire for all of us.”</p><p>“Just keep digging that hole deeper, Harry, just keep digging.” Penny nodded at him with a grin that promised ‘retribution’.</p><p>“Ready?” Tonks began.</p><p>“Set.” Harry continued.</p><p>“Go!” Fleur finished and raised a strong Protego with her wand.</p><p>“Catch!” Tonks laughed as she yanked up some stones from the ground and Transfigured them into rubber balls. The balls were blasted towards the other three at speed.</p><p>“Nope!” Harry raised his own Protego followed by Penny and the rubber balls all bounced off the Shield Charms.</p><p>“I’ve already got all three of you on the back foot!” Tonks chuckled before using the spell Harry had shown her, Similitudo, to make an illusionary mirror image of herself. The two Tonks split up to confuse their ‘opponents’.</p><p>“So you think.” Penny retorted as she moved to her left and conjured fireballs that she sent towards both Tonks. One raised and moved her arms snuffing out the fireballs heading her way. The other moved her arm and the fireballs passed through her making the illusion vanish.</p><p>“Do not forget about me.” Fleur smiled as a barrage of snowballs pelted towards the other three. Tonks used Levitation to alter the course of any snowball headed her way. The Auror didn’t even have to move to avoid the barrage. Penny transfigured the dirt into a thin wall in front of her and shielded behind it. Harry used the Immobulus Charm to stop any snowball that got to close. When the barrage ended he had almost a dozen snowballs frozen in midair.</p><p>“You can have these back.” Harry grinned as he turned the snowballs into water and launched them like water balloons in the girls’ directions.</p><p>“Ha!” Tonks mocked as she exerted her will on the conjured water and made it disappear. Penny simply willed her dirt shield to move and she easily blocked the water balls. Fleur used an Evaporation Charm and the water balls were gone before they reached her.</p><p>Penny crumbled her dirt shield into sand and then whipped her hand into the air. “Sand Veils All!” The blonde intoned and a strong wind whipped up and caught the particles. In a matter of seconds their ‘battlefield’ was covered by the mini sandstorm.</p><p>“Well there goes my hair!” Tonks ‘complained’ loudly.</p><p>“Down!” Harry stated with an echo of power in his voice. All of the sand whipping through the air was suddenly forced to the ground and held there by Harry’s will. “You didn’t think I’d figure out a counter for that spell of yours? I’m hurt Penny.”</p><p>Ropes shot across the ‘battlefield’ and moved as if they were alive. The source was Fleur’s wand as she conjured more and more to try and bind all three of them. Tonks, Harry, and Penny all waved their hands unleashing Cutting Charms against the writhing ropes. Fleur watched as her constructs disappeared after being sliced to pieces. Without missing a beat the platinum blonde flicked her wand and then made multiple swirling motions with it. The ground warped as it was transfigured and a large bear made of dirt and rock formed. It let out a soundless roar before charging the three of them.</p><p>“Beasts huh?” Tonks questioned before raising her arms and framing the charging golem with her hands. “Cube.” The golem bear slammed into a nearly transparent wall. Bouncing backwards from the sudden stop made it collide with a wall behind it. Below it, above it, and on all four side were strong walls of magic, like inverted Shield Charms, but stronger. “Capture complete!” The bubbly Metamorph laughed.</p><p>“Am I the only one that doesn’t have a named spell of his own?” Harry ‘lamented’ loudly before moving his arms in large circles a few times. Water formed into two large spheres and then merged into a single large ball of water. With a chop from his hand a thin, fast moving, line of water left the ball and sliced clean through the ‘Cube’ and the bear golem instantly.</p><p>“How’d you do that?!” Tonks demanded with an almost pout on her face. “I worked hard on that spell!”</p><p>“Oh Harry, you know we can just…just…why can’t I ‘Finite’ your conjured water?” Penny questioned as she failed to make the water vanish.</p><p>“This isn’t Conjuration; I simply gathered this water together from the air.” Harry stuck his tongue out at the Prefect with a smug grin. “Cool off time!” Harry made the large ball of water blast forward like a rain shower. All three girls raised Protego to keep from getting soaked by the downpour. As soon as the water stopped, Fleur made her move. Flames leapt from her left hand and formed into a bird-like shape. The fire bird ‘flew’ into the air above the ‘battlefield’ and flapped its wings to unleash a constant stream of small fireballs.</p><p>Penny dealt with the barrage with her own wall of fire. The small fireballs only merged with her flames. The blonde witch eyed Fleur, seeing the Veela teen focused solely on her construct Penny took action. A stomp on the ground sent a spell through the dirt. When said spell reached Fleur’s position the dirt under her feet heaved upwards about a dozen centimeters. This sudden disruption of her footing broke her concentration and the fire bird dissipated. Penny gathered her wall of fire into a ball for a moment and then sent a wave of flames across the battlefield at Tonks and Harry. Both of them had huddled under their own Protego to defend against the fireballs.</p><p>“Cheap!” Tonks squawked as she clapped her hands together with a look of intense concentration on her face. The air in front of her began to swirl and then spin rapidly. The flames were sucked up and blown out like a candle in mere seconds. Harry merely yanked the water from the wet ground and doused the wave of fire heading for him.</p><p>“Sagitta Flamma!” Fleur conjured fire from her left hand and then shaped it into arrows with her wand. That didn’t look safe to Harry.</p><p>“So much fire today!” Tonks laughed as she conjured up a large amount of water and then had it swirl into a point like a massive drill. That was going a bit too far!</p><p>“You’re not exactly giving any ground yourself!” Penny yelled to her older friend as a bright ball of mana was held between her hands. That also didn’t look good!</p><p>“Enough!” Harry roared out just before the girls could launch their spells. He conjured lightning for the first time in a while. Channeling the Fulmen Curse down his arm and to his index and middle fingertips he launched a bolt of electricity into the air. The sharp buzzing sound followed by the crack of super-heated air snapped the girls out of the ‘free for all’ and made them look at Harry. “I think we were all a little caught up.” He huffed, starting to realize how much mana he had expended during their little ‘duel’.</p><p>“I’m so sorry.” Fleur apologized as she dismissed her spell. “I got too competitive.”</p><p>“No, no, I’m the adult here. I should have calmed us down earlier.” Tonks shook her head and dispersed her conjured water.</p><p>“I think we all got a bit carried away.” Penny admitted as the ball of mana in her hands shrank and then faded away.</p><p>“Sorry about that.” All four of them apologized at the same time. When they all realized they said the same thing in unison Tonks and Harry cracked up. Their laughter triggered Penny and Fleur making the platinum haired girl and the blonde both descend into giggles.</p><p>“C'était incroyable!” Gabby came rushing towards the group, her beaming smile could have lit up the night. “Votre magie était si chouette! Peux-tu m'apprendre?<br/>Je veux faire ça!” Fleur quickly gathered her little sister up into a hug and picked the younger girl up. Gabby giggled and hugged her older sister happily.</p><p>“Peut-être quand tu seras plus âgé.” Fleur smiled at her little sister.</p><p>“I only understood about half that.” Harry whispered to Penny and Tonks.</p><p>“More than me, I only understood the first sentence.” Tonks admitted with a shrug.</p><p>“She said, ‘That was amazing.’, ‘Our magic was so neat.’, ‘She wants to know if we can teach her.’, and finally ‘She wants to do what we did.’ Is what she said.” Penny clarified since she was fluent in French.</p><p>“What did Fleur say?” Harry asked since he hadn’t caught what his friend had said to Gabby.</p><p>“Maybe when you’re older.” Penny translated for him with a soft smile at the sister’s interaction.</p><p>-At the Chateau-</p><p>“For a moment I thought we’d have to intervene.” Marius exhaled in relief seeing how much his daughter and her new friends were getting into their ‘duel’.</p><p>“I figured one of them would realize pretty quick when it started going too far.” Sirius smiled, though he already had his wand out.</p><p>“They’re very impressive.” Appoline breathed out in amazement. “Fleur is so far ahead of her school mates in Magic already. But those three kept up with her so easily.”</p><p>“Harry, Penny, and Tonks are all quite the gifted Spellcasters.” Sirius chuckled as he put his wand back in its holster.</p><p>“They’re exactly the kind of friends our little Flower needs.” Marius smiled. “One’s that are on the same level as her, and won’t be jealous or resentful of her talent. I’m so pleased that she’s found three such people.” The French father looked truly happy for his eldest child.</p><p>“Yes, we should have visits from time to time.” Appoline agreed. “We should exchange Floo addresses so the children can talk or visit on breaks and such.”</p><p>“I don’t think that will be a problem.” Sirius smiled brightly as the adults watched the youngsters play around on their way back to the Chateau.</p><p>
  <strong>-End Chapter-</strong>
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  <strong>Boom goes the spells! Seems like the lovely Miss Delacour has Three new friends instead of just one! It’s very nice to have friends that won’t drool on themselves in your presence. Especially female friends that don’t suspect that you’re trying to steal their boyfriend or get jealous because of your beauty or talent. Harry has some ideas going on for the Basilisk parts too! What will he make? Is there a benefit to Enchanting with parts of a Magical Creature that you’ve ‘Conquered’? What other ideas could he get on this trip to France? Fleur is quite the Student of Magical Theory, after all!</strong>
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  <strong>Keep reading to find out!</strong>
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  <strong> <span class="u">Current Mana Levels</span> </strong>
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  <strong>Harry – 5,196</strong>
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  <strong>Tonks – 6,478</strong>
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  <strong>Penelope – 5,702</strong>
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  <strong>Fleur – 6,000+</strong>
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  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
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<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Scholars, Commission, Trickery</h2></a>
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  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Harry learns some interesting information about the Magical World's adaptation of his Mana Measuring Method. He gets his first Commissions as an Artificer! Then he pulls a little bit of Trickery of his own!</strong>
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  <strong>Thank you roanoak for the names Lum and Thaum! I remembered what we chatted about way back in Chapter 4! Thanks for the help!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>This story now has a TvTropes Page! Woohoo! Thank TheSinful here and over on FFNet for all his hard work! You're a Beast Sin!</strong>
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  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
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</p><p>
  <strong>Chapter 21 – Scholars, Commission, Trickery</strong>
</p><p>"What's this?" Harry asked as Fleur smiled. The Veela girl handed him a small stack of parchment and Harry read the top line. "Magic Measurement: Mana in relation to Spell Effects and Power." Harry blinked at what was clearly a title before reading a bit further. "Oh, I see, so they want to further understand and quantify mana and how it applies to using Magic." The parchments Fleur had handed Harry were the Magical equivalent of a research paper. Apparently several Magical Scholars had taken his measuring method and used it to further break down and understand Spells.</p><p>"It is so very interesting, Harry!" Fleur smiled at her friend. "Madam Aveline is part of the research group! She makes copies of her notes for me to look over! They've broken down your mana measurement into two factors!"</p><p>Harry smiled at seeing Fleur so excited. The silver blonde was very intelligent and already on her way to becoming a Magical Scholar. Being able to read over the notes of one of the biggest changes to the Magical Community in regards to Magic would obviously make her happy. Harry looked over the parchment again and noted the names of the two factors of mana usage. The Lum and the Thaum. Lum was each individual unit of mana, or a 1 if measured by a Scouter or Test Frame. A Thaum was the unit of change per Lum. They'd apparently started their research with the Lumos Charm just as he'd done. It was certainly interesting. By the notes he was looking at if a standard Lumos Charm produced around five lux of illumination, or light per square meter, per Lum, then the Thaum, or how much changed with each Lum, would be measured as five. This was for just the basic Lumos Charm too. A more complex spell, such as Protego or a Stupefy, would certainly have much more differences in their power and duration of effect as they were measured.</p><p>"What're they testing now, Fleur?" Harry asked as he looked over the parchments.</p><p>"Madam Aveline says they're testing the Summoning Charm at the moment." Fleur answered with a bright smile. "A Lum produces about a meter of movement per second. So the Thaum is one as well. More Lums increases both the distance and speed at a ratio of two V to one D. This is even before you factor in the object in questions weight too!" Fleur was excitedly chatting about the research and Harry was just able to keep up with the girl. He was glad that further research into Magic and Spells was being done because of his measurement system. The Magical Scholars of the world would be the ones that tested and made sense of his measurement system in relation to Magic. From the parchments in his hands and Fleur's excited talk about the results so far. Well he was fairly certain his measurement system would be integrated into the understanding of Magic from now on. It might even become a staple of Arithmancy in relation to Spellcraft.</p><p>"This is brilliant, Fleur." Harry smiled at his platinum hared friend. "I'm glad to see that more is being understood and tested in regards to Magic. This could make understanding Spellcraft easier for people. I might just try my hand at a few original spells, since 'some people' don't seem to want to share theirs." He threw out towards Tonks and Penny. Both young ladies replied in their own way to Harry's comment. Penny simply smiled and returned to the book she was reading. Tonks, maturely, stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry at him.</p><p>"Nuh uh, Mister! 'Cube' is my spell! I worked hard on it!" Tonks stuck her nose into the air in an act of faux pompousness. "If you want to learn it you'll have to have an original spell of your own to trade." The Metamorph teased from where she was sitting on the coach flipping through Witch Weekly.</p><p>"Just you wait Nym. I'll create a spell so amazing you'll be begging to learn it!" Harry promised as he pointed at the, currently green haired, woman.</p><p>"Promises, promises, Harrikins!" Tonks chuckled as she flipped a page in her magazine.</p><p>The group was currently hanging out at Wood End Cottage. The summer break was almost over and Harry was taking a break from his Enchanting and Spell practice. It was Tonks' day off and they'd all been able to get together for a bit. With Floo addresses shared during their visit to France, it wasn't odd to find Fleur at Wood End Cottage a few times a week. Likewise it wasn't odd for Harry and Sirius to pop over to the Delacour Chateau for a weekend on invitation. Fleur, Penny, and Tonks had most certainly hit it off and become rather good friends. Fleur and Penny were both Academics and could 'nerd talk', as Tonks called it, for hours. Though Fleur enjoyed a good Duel almost as much as Tonks and the Metamorph relished having a partner to practice with that wasn't her rough around the edges mentor. Alastor Moody apparently didn't know the meaning of 'take it easy'.</p><p>Harry and Fleur got along with both Academics and Dueling. Fleur was very much impressed by his Enchanting as well. Harry truly had an affinity for this Branch of Magic. Fleur was amazed the one time Harry had let her flip through one of his journals with his ideas written into it. The number of ideas was impressive, to say the least. But it was the depth of thought noted down on the ideas closer to testing or completion that blew her away. Details about the idea or item, tests and re-tests, notes about failures or successes. So much existed in the journal and Fleur had only skimmed through it! The Veela girl was very much aware that Tonks and Penny seemed to have 'made a claim' on the young Artificer. But she couldn't help becoming more and more interested in him. From their time as Pen Pals, to meeting each other the first time, to now when they met up and spent time together often.</p><p>'I'm becoming smitten with Harry.' Fleur sighed at her thoughts. She'd have to speak with Tonks and Penny, privately, at some point. Fleur was hopeful her new friends would understand and potentially welcome her even further into their group. For now though, she'd be content to just be near the amazing young man. Her feelings, along with the situation between Harry, Tonks, and Penny, could be settled at a later time.</p><p>-Last Week of August ~ Diagon Alley-</p><p>"I've got everything I need." Harry mentioned as he and Sirius finished up their shopping trip. Harry was now ready to return to Hogwarts for his Third Year. He was hoping his new Electives, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, and Care of Magical Creatures, would make the School Year more exciting and challenging. He was starting to get bored with the slow pace of the Hogwarts curriculum.</p><p>"Are you sure you want to do this?" Sirius questioned his Godson with concern.</p><p>"That money belongs to me and they're basically holding it hostage. I'm getting it back." Harry replied with a determined gaze. "I just need you to come with me, Sirius, so that they take me seriously."</p><p>"Alright, Harry, I get it." Sirius sighed before smiling at his Godson. "Don't tell Marlie. She'd be giving me hell about messing with the Goblins."</p><p>"Just think of t as one of your pranks that you enjoy so much." Harry mentioned as the duo made their way towards Gringotts.</p><p>"The most dangerous prank I've ever been a part of." Sirius cracked a grin. The two walked up the steps of Gringotts and joined a line for the Tellers. A few minutes later they stepped up and Harry requested to speak to his Account Overseer.</p><p>"Follow me." A Goblin waved them over and then started walking without waiting for them. The two Wizards caught up with the Goblin and were led to the same door Harry had stood in front of before his first year at Hogwarts. The door with a gold plaque that simply said Margok hadn't changed at all. The Goblin leading them knocked three times and a call of 'Enter' was heard from within. Without waiting for a word the Goblin left Sirius and Harry standing at the door. They entered and sat in the two plain chairs before the Goblin's desk.</p><p>"Back again, Mr. Potter?" Margok questioned the teen in front of him. "I see you've brought your legal Guardian this time. Regardless, you still cannot access the Potter Family Vault."</p><p>"You have things that belong to me in your possession." Harry began and noticed the Goblin looking vaguely amused. "But I have something that I believe your people want far more than the contents of the Potter Family Vault and my Trust Vault."</p><p>"I highly doubt that, Mr. Potter." Margok snorted dismissively.</p><p>"So you don't want this back?" Harry asked as he unwrapped his Invisibility Cloak from around the Sword of Gryffindor. Margok's eyes locked onto the Legendary Blade and the Goblin was suddenly sitting straight up.</p><p>"That's a fake." Margok accused bearing his fangs.</p><p>"No, I found it at Hogwarts last year, test it if you want." Harry placed the sword on top of the desk, but he didn't let go of the handle. Not even when Margok glared harshly at him for the 'implied threat' of holding a sword within Gringotts. "Your choice."</p><p>"Very well." Margok growled as he ran his claws over the blade. Harry briefly noted a bit of Magic passing through the sword from his grip on the handle. After several minutes Margok sat back with a blank expression. Without a word he grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill. The Account Overseer wrote something down and then folded the parchment. In a blink the parchment was gone from the Goblin's desk. "You'll wait here and not move." Margok instructed his face blank. The Goblin's eyes were harsh and promised suffering if he was disobeyed.</p><p>"Margok." A deep voice came from behind Harry and Sirius as the door to the office was opened and a dozen armed Goblins entered the room. The voice came from the largest Goblin Harry had ever seen. This large Goblin stood at least as tall as Drad Erdunn, though Harry thought the Goblin might actually be a bit taller than the Dwarf. "Has it truly come into our Halls?"</p><p>"Yes, King Ragnok." Margok bowed to the large Goblin.</p><p>"Do not move." Ragnok growled at the Wizards as he moved over to the desk and touched the blade with the claw of his index finger. Once again Harry felt Magic moving through the blade. This time it was far more mana and it stayed in the blade longer, it even lingered for a brief moment after Ragnok took his claw off the sword. "What is it you want, Wizards?"</p><p>"I only want what is mine, Mister Ragnok." Harry intoned as he stared into the eyes of the large Goblin. The greed and resentment he saw in the Goblin's eyes was near sickening.</p><p>"I am King Ragnok Gringott, Wizard! Do not try to disrespect me in my own Halls!" Ragnok growled threateningly as Sirius and Harry noticed the armed Goblins reach for their weapons. "I could simply take this sword as it is within Gringotts! It is Goblin made and our Treaty with your Ministry allows us to reclaim what is ours!"</p><p>"Except that it's not." Harry replied evenly. Ragnok and the other Goblins tensed up for an instant. "I know that old story is a load of rubbish. This sword is no more Goblin-made than my wand. Taking it would be theft on your part and it's not like you can make either of us disappear without starting a war."</p><p>"We're a bit 'high profile' you could say." Sirius spoke pleasantly though the implied severity of any hostile actions was easily noted.</p><p>"So you know your History." Ragnok scoffed at the teen. "What do you want for it?"</p><p>"As I said earlier, I want what is mine." Harry replied, still holding onto the sword with a tight grip.</p><p>"How much is in the vaults under the Potter Family?" Ragnok questioned Margok while never breaking eye contact with Harry.</p><p>"Less than fifteen thousand Galleons, plus assorted heirlooms and other such objects, nothing we care about." Margok answered while glaring at Harry.</p><p>"Stuff it all in a trunk and bring it here." Ragnok ordered and Margok quickly wrote out a note and made it vanish.</p><p>"Seems we'll be done here soon, Harry." Sirius remarked to his Godson, his eyes not straying from the Goblins in the room.</p><p>"Thankfully." Harry responded as he and Ragnok continued to stare each other down.</p><p>Several tense minutes later and two Goblins carried in a plain trunk with a scroll of parchment on top. A few words passed in the Goblin language and Margok pulled the scroll off the top of the trunk. Handing the scroll to Harry the Account Overseer sneered. Harry opened the scroll and went through the list inside. He noted the various amounts of Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts. A bit of math showed him it was right about what the sum total of the Potter Family's liquid assets should be. He briefly noted that a list of items, most labelled as 'Miscellaneous', was included and skimmed it too. He passed the scroll to Sirius to look over.</p><p>"It has the seal, Harry, they have it all." Sirius remarked and pointed to an odd mark on the bottom of the scroll. "That seal was part of the last Treaty with the Goblins. When they gained full control over the Bank they had to enter into a Magical Contract with the Ministry. It was to keep both sides honest. If they'd left so much as a Knut or even a scrap of cloth behind that belonged to the Potter Family the seal wouldn't have formed." He explained as he rolled the scroll back up.</p><p>"Then our deal is done." Harry stated as he let go of the Sword of Gryffindor. Ragnok carefully picked up the sword and moved away from the Wizards. The sword briefly glowed a dark, putrid green before Ragnok smiled a fanged grin.</p><p>"Our deal is done." Ragnok agreed. "Potter, you are never to set foot inside of Gringotts again. If you do so you'll be treated as an invader and killed. Now take your trunk and get out of my Halls!" Harry and Sirius stood up and took hold of the trunk before heading towards the door.</p><p>"Gladly." Harry tossed back over his shoulder as he and Sirius were escorted from the Bank. Once they were in Diagon Alley again they quickly made their way to the Apparation point off to the side of Slug and Jigger's Apothecary. Sirius side along Apparated Harry and the trunk back to Wood End Cottage. When the duo arrived they both burst into laughter.</p><p>"I can't believe you pulled it off, Harry!" Sirius laughed loudly as they collapsed onto the grass in the backyard. "You're certain you can get the Sword back too?"</p><p>"That's what the Sorting Hat told me!" Harry chortled as he patted the trunk containing all of the Potter Family's wealth and possessions. "I'm just glad to have everything out of the Goblins' greedy claws."</p><p>"Well let's get this all inside and start going through it!" Sirius smiled at his Godson as he levitated the trunk inside. Harry agreed happily as he was eager to find out what was in the Potter Family Vault since he first heard of it.</p><p>-September 1st ~ Hogwarts Express-</p><p>What turned out to be inside the trunk, aside from money, was mostly old clothing and wands of his ancestors. There were also a few trinkets such as fine china and silverware and even a decent amount of books. Harry was more than happy to spend quite a bit of his last few days of summer looking through it all. But now he was on the Hogwarts Express on his way to his Third Year.</p><p>"Harry? You seem to be lost in thought, are you alright?" Penny asked as she sat across from him. The train was set to depart in just a few more minutes. Harry smiled at Penny before he got a mischievous thought and decided to tease her a little.</p><p>"I'm fine Penny. I was just thinking about my birthday." Harry innocently remarked. As expected Penny's cheeks turned pink and she looked away from him. "You three looked nice in those swimsuits." Indeed, Tonks had gotten up to her own brand of mischief for Harry's birthday. The Metamorph had gotten Fleur and Penny in on it too, though Penny hadn't known the full extent of Tonks' plan. So it came to be that Harry, poolside at the Delacour Chateau, had gotten to see Tonks, Penny, and Fleur in bikinis. Tonks had grinned before, with a snap of her fingers, the bikinis had become much less 'covering'.</p><p>"Those were not swimsuits!" Penny practically hid behind her hands in embarrassment. "Lingerie covers more than those 'bikinis' did when Tonks was done!" Considering the fact that said swimwear had suddenly become mostly strings. They barely had enough cloth to cover what needed to be covered and Harry had gotten quite the eyeful. Oddly enough Fleur hadn't seemed bothered by it at all. She and Tonks had even posed a bit for the teen with teasing grins and smiles. Penny had shown off her 'assets' by turning around while also trying to cover herself. Harry had politely covered his eyes until Penny calmed down.</p><p>"I don't think I could have asked for a better gift though." Harry teased lightly. Especially since Penny, Tonks, and Fleur were all very lovely young ladies. Fleur would be considered 'perfect' by most men. Pretty face with deep blue eyes, blemish free skin with a light tan from the summer sun, long flowing platinum blonde hair, her large breasts that had barely been covered in the slightest by the transfigured bikini, her thin waist and flat stomach, the wide hips and long, smooth legs. Veela were known for their physical beauty and Harry had gotten an up close view of Fleur in 'almost' all her glory.</p><p>"Shush you!" Penny huffed as she flicked a ball of mana at him. Harry chuckled as it 'popped' against his forehead.</p><p>"Alright, alright, I'm sorry." Harry apologized for his teasing. "You did look very beautiful though, Penny. You're a lovely girl after all."</p><p>"Flattery will get you nowhere, Mister." Penny grinned at him softly.</p><p>"Aww that's too bad." Harry playfully huffed and Penny rolled her eyes at him.</p><p>The two were joined by Luna shortly before the train began to move. Hermione, Padma, and Mandy came by to chat for a while during the trip too. All in all it was a regular train ride to Hogwarts. The only 'bad' part of the trip was when Penny had to leave for almost two hours for Head Girl duties. Penny had been so happy to be made Head Girl. Harry, Tonks, and even Fleur had congratulated the blonde on her achievement. When Penny came back she sat beside Harry instead of across from him. Luna had smiled at the sight for some reason, but Harry was too happy to have Penny back to care much. They'd spent the last of the train ride leaning against each other happily.</p><p>-Great Hall ~ Sorting Ceremony-</p><p>"Hey Penny, where do they keep the Sorting Hat during the year?" Harry asked as one of the new First Years got sorted into Hufflepuff.</p><p>"In the Headmaster's Office, why?" Penny whispered back curiously.</p><p>"I need it to keep an agreement I made." Harry whispered to her.</p><p>"What kind of agreement requires the Sorting Hat?" Penny questioned quietly.</p><p>"I just need to return something." Harry looked at her knowingly.</p><p>"Oh, are you giving it back?" Penny asked curiously.</p><p>"More like getting it back to its rightful owner." Harry told her before he clapped as a new Ravenclaw started walking towards their table.</p><p>"I hope you know what you're doing, Harry." Penny remarked.</p><p>"I have an idea that could very well hinge on this." Harry smiled back. "If it works out I'll be able to free up quite a bit of time."</p><p>-September 4th ~ Saturday-</p><p>The first weekend of the school term saw Harry making his way to the Headmaster's Office. He'd gotten confirmation from Sirius about the part of the plan his Godfather was in charge of. He'd also heard back from Drad Erdunn and was pleased as could be that the Dwarf, and his father King Erdunn, would be meeting him shortly. Sirius had already sent ahead a letter to Dumbledore stating that Harry had a meeting in Hogsmeade. Penny, as Head Girl, would be escorting Harry to the village to meet with Sirius. Dumbledore had been curious about the meeting but had let the matter rest when Sirius had said it was for Harry's Professional Enchanting. Interfering in the Business of another was punishable in court if the Business owner pressed charges.</p><p>"Ice Mice." Harry spoke to the gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's Office. Why Dumbledore had that set as the password was a mystery to Harry. The gargoyle moved aside and Harry stepped onto the revolving spiral staircase. Once at the Office door Harry was about to knock before he heard Dumbledore.</p><p>"Come in, Harry." Dumbledore welcomed as the door opened by itself. Harry stepped into the large office and took note of the multitude of odd devices. There were bookshelves filled with heavy tomes, and several cupboards along the walls. Sitting on a perch next to the Headmaster's desk was the same Phoenix from the Chamber. Oh Harry would very much like to get some more samples of Phoenix materials for his research! But for now he'd have to focus and do what he came here for.</p><p>"Good morning, Headmaster." Harry greeted politely.</p><p>"Good morning to you as well, Harry." Dumbledore smiled. "I was a bit confused that you said you needed to meet with me before your Business meeting in Hogsmeade with Sirius. If you're hoping to ask for business advice I'm afraid I don't have much experience." The old man joked.</p><p>"I actually need to ask your permission to speak with the Sorting Hat, sir." Harry informed Dumbledore of his reason for meeting him.</p><p>"The Sorting Hat?" Dumbledore questioned curiously. "Why would you need to speak with it? You aren't trying for a Re-Sorting are you?"</p><p>"Is that a thing?" Harry questioned. He'd never heard of it after all.</p><p>"Rather rare, Harry, but it has been needed in the past a few times." Dumbledore admitted.</p><p>"Well, that's not why I'm here." Harry shook his head slightly. "I need to ask the Hat for something."</p><p>"An odd request, Harry." Dumbledore mentioned as he levitated the Sorting Hat off the top of a bookcase and onto his desk.</p><p>"Thank you, sir." Harry thanked the old man before focusing on the Hat. "I have need of the sword." He spoke clearly and the Hat moved a bit. Dumbledore's eyes widened a bit at the term 'sword'.</p><p>"Where did you leave it?" The Sorting Hat questioned as it faced Harry. "I'm not a Post Owl you know."</p><p>"I apologize, but where it is right now is inaccessible to me." Harry informed the relic in front of him.</p><p>"Fine, fine, just give me a moment." The Sorting Hat brushed off before it straightened up and a dull thud was heard from within it. Harry reached under the hat and took hold of the handle. Pulling back the Sword of Gryffindor was in his hands once more.</p><p>"Harry?! Is that?!" Dumbledore almost choked at seeing the legendary sword of Godric Gryffindor in the Third Year's hands.</p><p>"Yes sir, it is the Sword of Gryffindor." Harry admitted. "The Sorting Hat can explain the details to you, but I need this for my meeting."</p><p>"I don't understand?" Dumbledore looked very confused. Harry stood up and pulled his Invisibility Cloak out of his inner robe pocket.</p><p>"The stories you've heard about Godric's sword have been greatly altered Dumbledore." The Sorting Hat spoke up and the old man turned his attention to the ancient hat. While the Sorting Hat was telling the Headmaster the true history of the blade, Harry wrapped the Invisibility Cloak around it. The sword vanished from sight and Harry turned back to Dumbledore.</p><p>"Thank you, Headmaster, but I must be on my way to my meeting. Have a nice Saturday, sir." With that Harry left through the still open door and down the spiral staircase.</p><p>"Harry? Harry wait!" Dumbledore stood up from his desk.</p><p>"Don't!" The Sorting Hat spoke loudly, stopping Dumbledore from taking a step. "The sword does not belong to you, to Hogwarts, or even to Mr. Potter. Now that Gryffindor's Line is gone that sword belongs to the Line that forged it. No one has any right to stop Mr. Potter from returning it."</p><p>"But it's a Relic of Hogwarts, one of the lost items of the Founders." Dumbledore stated and the Sorting Hat did its own equivalent of a head shake.</p><p>"It is no longer the Sword of Gryffindor. That Family Line is gone from this world. It is the Sword of Erdunn now, just as it should be. Do not make the mistake of thinking you have the right to dictate where that sword goes." The Sorting Hat stated with a tone of finality.</p><p>"I would not wish to become a thief." Dumbledore sighed as he sat down again. "But how did the story come to be twisted so much?"</p><p>"That happened long ago, shortly after I took possession of the sword." The Sorting Hat began to tell the tale from the information that it knew. It would be a lengthy tale if the Hat told everything of it's nearly one thousand years of existence. For the sake of saving time though, the Hat would only tell the Headmaster what related directly to the sword.</p><p>Harry met Penny in the Great Hall and the two of them were quickly on their way towards Hogsmeade. The village came into view after a short ride on one of the carriages. Sirius was waiting for them at the Three Broomsticks as planned.</p><p>"Your associates are already in the private room Harry." Sirius said in an imitation of a personal secretary.</p><p>"Ha ha, Sirius." Harry deadpanned. "This is important, so behave?"</p><p>"If I must." Sirius chuckled and Penny stifled her giggles at the antics between Godfather and Godson. The trio made their way into the private room of the Three Broomsticks. Waiting for them was Drad Erdunn and his father King Drasurd Erdunn.</p><p>"A pleasure to see you again, Erdunn." Harry greeted the Dwarf he knew. He got a nod back from the Dwarf in response. "It is good to meet you King Erdunn."</p><p>"Not much of a King without a mountain, lad." Drasurd replied with a tired look on his older face. "Why have you asked to meet with me? Your letter was rather vague."</p><p>"I have something that belongs to you, King Erdunn, and I believe it is more than time that it was returned to you." Harry answered as he unwrapped the Invisibility Cloak from the sword. Both Dwarves jolted when the sword was revealed and Harry presented it to them.</p><p>"Lad, no, Harry Potter where did you find this?" Drasurd asked as he slowly stepped towards the blade.</p><p>"Inside the Sorting Hat if you can believe it." Harry replied. "Was defending the school last year, almost died to a Basilisk, the Sorting Hat arrives with a Phoenix and gives me the sword. It's a long story, honestly."</p><p>"The sword my father forged." Drasurd murmured quietly as he looked the blade over. "It's been so long."</p><p>"Careful with the blade, King Erdunn, I might have accidentally given it a Basilisk Venom upgrade by accident." Harry informed the elder Dwarf.</p><p>"How the hell to you give it a power like that accidentally?" Drad questioned and Harry turned to look at the confused younger Dwarf.</p><p>"Shoved it through a Basilisk's head and it got coated in the venom." Harry explained sheepishly. The teen Artificer was pretty sure he felt Penny's eyes staring into the back of his head. "But I return this to you, as it should have been long ago."</p><p>"Thank you, Harry Potter." Drasurd spoke as he picked the sword up and held it before his eyes. "The Line of Erdunn has hope once more." The sword suddenly glowed and the inscription on the guard that read 'Gryffindor' changed until it spelled out 'Erdunn'. The rubies in the guard almost seemed to have fire in them as the sword's innate Magic synced with Drasurd's Magic. The 'Claiming' was a sight to behold and when the Magic died down the sword almost looked brand new. It gleamed with a light that had never been present in all the time Harry had it in his possession.</p><p>"Haven't seen a smile like that on your face in ages, father." Drad smiled at his father. Indeed, Drasurd had a smile on his bearded face, to Harry it looked like the weight of years had suddenly left the Dwarf King. The elder Dwarf switched the Sword of Erdunn to his left hand and extended his right hand out to Harry. Harry returned the gesture, expecting a handshake, only to find his forearm grasped. Realizing what Drasurd was going for Harry clasped his hand around the Dwarf's much thicker forearm.</p><p>"From this day forth, Harry Potter is a brother to the Dwarves of Erdunn, if ever you need our aid you have but to call on us." Drasurd intoned and Harry felt a shift in his Magic. On his forearm a small symbol had appeared. Harry surmised this was a Magical Rite of some kind. The mark was probably the Emblem of the Erdunn Line of Dwarves.</p><p>"I am honored, King Erdunn." Harry replied and the two released each other's arms.</p><p>"Welcome, Brother Potter." Drad grinned at the teen and Harry grinned back.</p><p>"Pleased to be a part of Erdunn." Harry responded.</p><p>"Is there anything you need us for at the moment, Harry?" Drasurd questioned the Artificer.</p><p>"Actually, I had a business proposition for the Dwarves of Erdunn." Harry informed them. Seeing both Dwarves were interested Harry continued. "I recently got my first professional commission. The DMLE wants to make one of my items standard issue to their Aurors. They've put in an order for five hundred of them and I simply can't fulfill that by myself."</p><p>"We would need a place to work, if what you need done is blacksmithing and rune work." Drasurd replied and Sirius stepped forward.</p><p>"Already taken care of, King Erdunn." Sirius gave a small bow. "I've purchased a large building in Diurn Alley that can be used for blacksmithing and as a workshop. It even has a storefront for direct sales to walk-in customers."</p><p>"Sixty-forty in your favor Harry, I'll not hear another word." Drasurd had a light in his eyes that showed a surging of emotion. Harry was fairly sure that emotion was Hope, a newly rekindled Hope for the future of his people.</p><p>"Alright, but we'll renegotiate for an even split in ten years." Harry agreed. He wanted the Dwarves to have the appropriate compensation for their time and skills after all.</p><p>"Very well." Drasurd chuckled along with Drad.</p><p>"I'll show you the plans for the items I'd like you all to make. You can also make your own items and sell them in the storefront. All the profits of those sales are yours to do with as you please." Harry told his new business partners.</p><p>"I'll sign the Secrecy Contract and bind my people to it in regards to your creations Harry." Drasurd promised the young Wizard that had already done so much for his people.</p><p>From there Harry, Sirius, and Drasurd had spent the next two hours going over the Secrecy Contract that Sirius had drawn up by a legal professional. Sirius had also spent the equivalent of nine percent of the Black Family fortune to buy an iron mine. The land the mine sat on had belonged to another Magical Family that had long abandoned the site. The Wizards and Witches of that Family had fallen on hard times since the war against Grindelwald. Now they were more than happy to restore their wealth by selling a piece of land they didn't even use.</p><p>Drasurd had barely kept his emotions in check when Sirius had said that the Dwarves could work there to mine iron ore and any other metals they found. The Dwarf King felt real hope for the returned prosperity of his people. For the first time since they'd been driven to the edge of the Magical World the Dwarves had a real chance, Mining, Smithing, and Crafting! These were the true callings of the Dwarves! His people could finally have their respect and dignity back!</p><p>Needless to say all parties involved had happily signed the Contract. That night the Dwarves had celebrated for the first time in far too long. They had a real chance to secure their future now! They had their Ancestral Sword back. They had steady, respectable work for good wages! The only thing they were still missing from before they'd been all but exiled was a Mountain Hall. For some reason Drasurd was fairly certain that the Dwarves would even get that back with their continued brotherhood with Harry Potter.</p><p>
  <strong>-End Chapter-</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>So the Goblins think they are the only ones that can be tricky and underhanded? *Laughs in Human*</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>So Harry has gotten all Potter assets out of Gringotts. He and Sirius now have a joint venture with the Dwarves. The Dwarves have their Ancestral Sword back, plus steady, respectable, well paid work.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Harry even got his first professional commission from the DMLE! Thankfully with the Dwarves working with him he now has the workforce necessary to meet such numbers! Things are looking up for the Harry and his friends!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Now how long will that last?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Keep reading to find out!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Current Mana Levels</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Harry – 5,208</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Tonks – 6,524</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Penelope – 5,742</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Fleur – 6,000+</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Gift, Items, Progress</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Harry receives a gift! More items are revealed in the planning and prototype stages! Progress is made! But…something less than pleasant is going on in the shadows of the Magical World!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Chapter 22 – Gift, Items, Progress</strong>
</p><p>September was nearing its end and Harry was happy. With the Dwarves taking care of the Ministry Commission of ‘Auror Batons’, Harry had much more free time to work on his other ideas. Test Frames were also being made and sold in the storefront in Diurn Alley. Harry had taken out an ad in the Daily Prophet. This was to bring attention to the new store. ‘Potter &amp; Erdunn Creations’ as the store was called, had a fairly large advert on the second page of the last three copies of the Daily Prophet. Test Frames could now be purchased just by going to the store and buying one. This freed up a lot of Harry’s time and the teen Artificer was more than happy to work on his Artifact Sword or some of his other ideas.</p><p>“So if I etch each link with the same Array, I should get the same effect even if a link or multiple links are broken.” Harry murmured to himself as he looked over the chain he was working on. With the Dwarves help Harry had gotten a decent amount of Magical Iron to work and experiment with. He’d had an idea to alter his ‘Mana Severing’ Runic Array and cross it with the ‘Auror Baton’s’ temporary ‘Mana Drain’ Array. If his idea panned out, and all the sequences he’d written out so far had no reason not to, then he’d have a new item that could be used for both restraint and possibly defense. “As long as the ‘Control Sequence’ works properly, of course.” Harry mused as he once again looked over his notes and various Runic Sequences. When he was done he’d have an Item that could render a Wizard or Witch, and potentially anything that used Magic to cause an external effect, powerless. This would be an Item he’d be keeping exclusively to himself, for obvious reasons. With that Harry took out his etching tool and set to work on the short length of chain that would be his first test of his new ‘Mana Bane’ Array.</p><p>-Albania-</p><p>“M-Master…Your loyal s-servant has come.” A huddled Wizard trembled as he kneeled before a shabby looking man. The man’s eyes were red and his face gaunt. He moved with slightly jerky motions and a strange smell came from him constantly.</p><p>“Stop that whimpering, Flint.” The shabby man hissed out. “I already know why you’ve finally sought me out. The Main Line of the Flint Family has cast out its lesser members to save what little gold they have left. They go about their lives while I languish in this state. They will know my displeasure once I am restored to my former glory.”</p><p>“Y-Yes, My Lord.” Stephen Flint, a member of one of the Pureblood Flint Family’s branches, stuttered out. Even weakened and possessing someone his master, Lord Voldemort, was terrifying.</p><p>“Find me another Squib, Flint.” Voldemort hissed out as the body he was currently inhabiting spasmed strongly. “This one won’t last much longer.”</p><p>“Yes, My Lord.” Stephen bowed and quickly Apparated to the nearest Magical Village.</p><p>“Barely useful for anything.” Voldemort hissed out his frustration. He was furious at being reduced to this state. His time possessing and draining the magic from Quirrel had strengthened him greatly from the mere smoke and vapor he’d been. When Dumbledore, Voldemort sneered at the mere thought of his old Professor, had trapped and ambushed him in that chamber at the end of his blasted trap-filled corridor. He’d managed to escape by tossing the near dead body of Quirrel at the old man. But now Dumbledore was aware of just how much he’d recovered. That would let the old fool plan for his eventual return. For now Voldemort had bigger concerns. He was strong enough to possess and drain the magic from Squibs by force, but each subsequent ‘host’ lasted less and less time. This meant that he was gaining strength, which was good, but also that he’d need a much more ‘permanent’ solution to his lack of a physical body. “Time…I just need more time.” The weakened Dark Lord muttered under his breath as he waited for his servant to return with his next ‘host’.</p><p>-Hogwarts ~ Second Week of October-</p><p>“No way.” Harry breathed out as he looked at the package that had been sent to him from the Dwarves. Inside was a piece of metal, created and refined by the Dwarves as a ‘Thank you’ gift to him for improving their quality of life. According to the letter, written to him by King Erdunn, this was a material that only the Dwarves knew how to make!</p><p>“Harry? Would you like to share what’s so special about this package?” Penny asked him. They were currently in the Hidden Workshop at Hogwarts. Harry had received the large package at breakfast not ten minutes ago. Thankfully today was Saturday so they had no classes. Penny was honestly a mix of confused, concerned, and slightly mirthful. Harry had opened the package and simply stared at it mumbling ‘No way’ every moment or two after having read the letter that accompanied the package.</p><p>“Huh?” Harry shook his head before focusing on Penny.</p><p>“What’s so special about this package?” Penny asked again with a grin.</p><p>“You won’t believe this!” Harry broke out into a wide smile. “This is a ‘Thank you’ gift from the Dwarves. It’s Isimun, also called ‘Everlasting Iron’ by Wizards and Witches. It has similar properties to Adamantite! But with one key difference, Isimun is unchangeable by Magic. It can’t be Transfigured, Charmed, or altered through Alchemy! Only the Dwarves know how to make it!” The teen Artificer gushed as he picked up the bar of Isimun and started looking it over.</p><p>“If you can’t change it then isn’t it kind of useless to your Enchanting?” Penny questioned. It seemed like a rare paper weight to her the way Harry described it as unchangeable.</p><p>“Not at all!” Harry laughed as he placed the metal bar back down on his work table. “I can still etch Runes onto the Isimun and use it as a focal point for whatever creation I add it to. That’ll impart a similar strength and durability to the Item it becomes. Whatever I make with it will be just as unaffected by Magic as the Isimun is.”</p><p>“Oh, that could definitely be useful then.” Penny remarked, now understanding the properties of the metal better.</p><p>“Very useful in fact…” Harry suddenly trailed off as his eyes widened. “In fact it could be just what I was missing.” The Artificer quickly opened a drawer on the desk and pulled out his journal with all his notes about his Artifact Sword. “If I use the right Runes…a proper sequence…forge around it…the Sylvuan wouldn’t be bothered by it…”</p><p>“Harry?” Penny was wide eyed at seeing Harry going through his notes so fervently. He repeatedly glanced between the Isimun and the various pages he was flipping through.</p><p>“Penny, do you remember what I told you about my prototype and Voldemort’s book?” Harry asked the Head Girl suddenly. Penny was startled by the sudden question but recovered quickly.</p><p>“You said it fell apart because you pushed it far past its limit, right?” Penny responded as she recalled Harry’s studying of some of the dust his prototype had turned into.</p><p>“Exactly!” Harry nodded. “I not only burnt out the Array but rendered the metals themselves inert. The loss of all Magic is what made the prototype practically disintegrate.”</p><p>“What does that have to do with the Isimun?” Penny questioned, not seeing where Harry was going with his line of thought.</p><p>“Isimun CAN’T change by Magic once it’s formed!” Harry beamed at her. “If I make it the core of my Artifact Sword it’ll never be able to lose its Magic! It’ll be able to cut through any Magic if I can give it enough power! I need to check the Runic Sequences of my current Array, see what I other Sequences could be used to link them to the Isimun.” Harry grabbed three different Runecraft Books and opened them on his work table. Penny couldn’t help herself and broke out into a soft smile as she watched Harry get so excited about his project. The blonde watched with fondness as Harry looked through the books and compared his own notes to them.</p><p>“I’m completely smitten with you aren’t I?” Penny whispered to herself with a small giggle. The Head Girl sat at the desk in the ‘study area’ of the Hidden Workshop. She had her own studying to do after all. It was her Seventh Year and she wanted to get as many O’s on her N.E.W.T.s as possible.</p><p>-First Hogsmeade Trip-</p><p>“Hey Penny.” Harry smiled at his ‘date’ for the day.</p><p>“Good morning, Harry.” Penny returned his smile. “What did Tonks have to say about you taking me on a ‘date’?” She teased him slightly.</p><p>“Only that I now ‘Owe her one too’ and that ‘She should have been first because she knew me longer’ if you must know.” Harry sighed with a shake of his head. Tonks hadn’t let a chance to tease him pass when he and Penny had agreed to go to Hogsmeade together. Her reply letter had included her ‘terms’ for letting Penny have ‘first date’. According to the fun-loving Metamorph, Harry had to take her on a date either on Yule Break or at the earliest chance the following summer.</p><p>“Poor Harry, too many girls?” Penny giggled as they walked towards the doors. Argus Filch was checking students off his list of those allowed to go to Hogsmeade before letting them pass.</p><p>“I’m still trying to figure out how Tonks ended up getting her way with this ‘relationship’.” Harry scratched the top of his head.</p><p>“Wait until Fleur asks about joining in.” Penny remarked with a smirk.</p><p>“Why would Fleur want to join?” Harry asked. “We’re friends, sure, but she doesn’t have romantic feelings for me, does she?”</p><p>“Oh Harry, you have A LOT of things to learn about girls.” Penny chuckled as they climbed into a carriage together. “But we’ll never tell you what they are.” She laughed at Harry’s flummoxed expression.</p><p>“But…then how can I learn?” Harry asked. Penny only smiled pleasantly at him with laughter in her warm brown eyes.</p><p>Their date went well, at least Harry thought so. Penny had led him around the Village the first time to show him everything. They’d stopped by Scrivenshaft’s, peeked into Zonko’s for a bit, gone to Gladrags and had a nice lunch at the Three Broomsticks. The two had left Honeydukes with a smiling Penny holding a box of Honeyduke’s Finest Chocolates as a gift from Harry. There next stop had been the ‘Most Haunted Building in Britain’. But seeing the ‘Shrieking Shack’ up close was kind of boring when you knew that it wasn’t actually haunted. They both knew the ‘secret’ of the Shrieking Shack, thanks to Sirius and Remus.</p><p>The fact that Remus had agreed to be Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor had been quite the surprise at the beginning of the year. But Harry happily attended DADA classes that actually taught him something for the first time. Though Harry found both Runes and Arithmancy to be kind of a letdown. Third Year classes were merely introductory material and Harry had surpassed that before he’d ever gotten to Hogwarts. Though it was fun to chat with Professor Vector and Professor Babbling about higher level topics after classes on occasion. Hagrid’s Care of Magical Creatures Class was interesting. Though Hagrid was slightly put out that Harry would rather harvest materials from Creatures instead of raising them as pets.</p><p>“It was a lovely day, Harry.” Penny smiled at him on their ride back to Hogwarts.</p><p>“It was.” Harry agreed with his own smile. He was surprised when Penny leaned forward and kissed him. Their lips connected for a few moments. Harry enjoyed the soft kiss far more than anything else that day. The two separated and Harry opened his eyes with a dopey grin. Penny looked rather pleased with herself too and the two leaned against each other for the rest of the ride. Penny only smiled and leaned into Harry more when the younger teen’s arm wrapped around her waist. The two were noticeably closer to anyone that paid attention from then on.</p><p>-Halloween-</p><p>“They really went all out on the decorating this year.” Harry mentioned as he and Penny were enjoying the Feast. “Let’s hope nothing horrible happens this time.” He muttered.</p><p>“Nothing strange has happened so far, Harry.” Penny reassured him with a smile.</p><p>“Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, but three times is a pattern.” Harry mentioned and Penny sighed with a fond smile.</p><p>“Hush and enjoy the sweets.” Penny giggled as she placed a spoonful of pudding into his mouth. Luna giggled from Penny’s other side with her own spoonful of pudding.</p><p>-Albania-</p><p>“This is what I need.” Voldemort hissed as he looked through a weathered tome. Stephen Flint flinched at the delight in his Master’s tone. Because the Dark Lord currently inhabited Squibs he couldn’t use a wand. But from what he’d just heard, Stephen was sure he’d be under the threat of Voldemort’s wand soon enough. “Flint!”</p><p>“Yes, My Lord?!” Stephen bowed to the Dark Lord.</p><p>“I’ll need several things to move to the next phase of my return.” Voldemort stated his red eyes locked onto the trembling Wizard. “You’ll get them for me.”</p><p>“Yes, My Lord.” Stephen didn’t rise from his bow.</p><p>No one in Britain would know that on this Halloween something horrible had indeed happened. Harry would actually get to fully enjoy a Halloween with nothing happening to him. But it seemed to be his fate, as long as Voldemort was alive, that Halloween would be a day that horrible things happened.</p><p>-First Week of November-</p><p>“Nice.” Harry smiled at the note that Tayla had just delivered to him. The Dwarves had finished the DMLE’s Commission of five hundred ‘Auror Batons’. At one hundred Galleons per baton Harry and the Dwarves had made fifty thousand Galleons. With their current deal that meant Harry now had thirty thousand Galleons in the expanded trunk back at Wood End Cottage. The Dwarves had happily celebrated the twenty thousand Galleons they’d made from their work. That money would also go to expanding their offerings in the storefront of Diurn Alley. As the old saying went, ‘You have to spend money to make money’.</p><p>With his fortune growing bit by bit Harry felt confident in his future. Now if he could only get his Artifact Sword and other projects completed the Artificer would be even happier! Though to be fair, Penny could be rather distracting when she wanted to be. Not that Harry was complaining! He wasn’t sure just how he and Penny had ended up in Tonks’ relationship idea so well, but he wouldn’t trade their relationship for anything! The Artifact Sword was still slow going. Isimun could have Runes etched into it, but finding the right Sequence to link up with his already made Array was difficult to say the least. Not to mention that differing materials interacted differently with certain Arrays. Harry had found that out with his Oulm Circuit Knife after all. As of now he was still in the planning stages of the full Array he hoped to integrate into his Artifact Sword.</p><p>-The Next Day ~ Breakfast-</p><p>Harry smiled fondly at Hedwig as the beautiful snowy owl landed at the breakfast table. She allowed him to pet her and feed her some bacon and ham. Harry smiled as he removed the letter from her leg and she flew off to the Owlery. Penny looked at who the letter was from and teasingly nudged him with her elbow. Reading the name Harry found himself smiling too.</p><p>“I wonder what new thing Fleur wants to talk about.” Harry smiled as he opened the letter. Reading over the French version first and smiling at having gotten most of it right when he read the English version next, Harry felt his cheeks warm up slightly.</p><p>“Told you so.” Penny whispered into his ear. Harry refused to meet his girlfriend’s eyes. Fleur had expressed interest in ‘deepening’ their relationship in her letter. The picture she’d sent along with her letter, once again wearing the tiny bikini from his birthday, had made it obvious how serious the Veela girl was.</p><p>“This reeks of Tonks’ mischief.” Harry remarked as he looked at Penny out of the corner of his eye. “And a certain Head Girl’s too, now that I think about it.”</p><p>“What? Me? I’d never.” Penny smiled ‘innocently’.</p><p>“Uh huh, sure.” Harry shook his head disbelievingly. “How did Tonks corrupt our sweet and proper Head Girl?”</p><p>“I am not corrupted.” Penny huffed jokingly. “I just found a good man a lot earlier in my life than I thought I would.” Harry wouldn’t have been able to stop the smile that spread across his face if he wanted to. His hand quickly found Penny’s and entwined their fingers.</p><p>“How did I get so lucky?” Harry murmured so only Penny could hear him.</p><p>“Who knows, but you might’ve used up all of your luck for life.” Penny smiled at him with mirth. “But what’re you going to write back to Fleur?”</p><p>“What should I say?” Harry asked as he reread the letter. “Fleur is a wonderful girl and any man would be lucky to have her affections. But I have you and Tonks; I don’t want to cheapen that.”</p><p>“Oh, when did our Harry get so wise?” Penny grinned fondly at him. “You don’t have to worry about ‘cheapening’ our relationship, Harry. Tonks, Fleur, and I have been in contact for a bit about this already. Tonks is happy to welcome Fleur into our relationship.”</p><p>“Are you though?” Harry asked her softly. His eyes met hers and Penny felt her heart thump in her chest at the care and affection directed at her by Harry’s gaze.</p><p>“I’ve already agreed, too.” Penny squeezed his hand as she smiled beautifully at him. “Fleur and I get along very well. Not to mention she is very pretty.”</p><p>“Penny?!” Harry choked as Penny winked at him. He grabbed his goblet and drank to clear his throat. He wasn’t thinking about Penny, Tonks, and Fleur being together like ‘that’! He wasn’t! “Tonks has most definitely corrupted you!”</p><p>“Are you really complaining?” Penny practically purred lowly to him.</p><p>“Absolutely not.” Harry admitted instantly.</p><p>“I didn’t think you were.” Penny smirked at him. The couple only let go of each other’s hand when breakfast ended and they were forced to separate.</p><p>-Hidden Workshop ~ After Classes-</p><p>“Why doesn’t the ‘Control Sequence’ work?” Harry murmured to himself. He was working on his ‘Mana Bane’ chains this afternoon. Whenever he got stuck on one project he’d simply set it aside and work on a different project. Right now though he was running up against another wall. The ‘Control Sequence’ for the ‘Mana Bane’ Array wasn’t working. Without it the user of the chains couldn’t use their own magic through the chains to manipulate them. They’d just have to swing the chains around and hope to wrap up their target. “Damn it.” Harry pinched the bridge of his nose. This was the pain of the inventor and craftsman, having ideas and having to try over and over again to bring them to reality.</p><p>It wasn’t like he couldn’t take a break from this project for a while though. He did still need to write back to Fleur and accept her offer to try dating along with Tonks and Penny. Wasn’t that absolutely mind boggling in and of itself? Three beautiful older girls were interested in him. Definitely not how Harry had ever thought his romantic life would end up. The few times he had actually thought about it, that is. But he was very interested in all three of them, they were all intelligent, which Harry found attractive. Their differing personalities and interests were fun and interesting. They were also undeniably beautiful. Penny was a natural beauty. Tonks could be whatever she wanted and had made more than enough innuendo about what she could do in the bedroom. Fleur was a Veela and they were known for their beauty and their Magical Allure. What they saw in him was a bit of a mystery to the Artificer. He was younger than them; he’d had to play catch up from being isolated from the Magical World for almost a decade. Maybe he could ask them? That would be the simplest route, right?</p><p>“I guess I’ll write Fleur back first. I can ask her while I’m accepting her feelings.” Harry figured as he moved the notes on the ‘Mana Bane’ to the side and pulled a fresh sheet of parchment towards himself. “Afterwards I can read more of the Broom Crafting book. I’m pretty sure I know enough to start planning a prototype Array and Item.” Harry set himself to put quill to parchment and began to write to Fleur. He poured his own feelings into his response, letting her know he was happy and willing to accept her feelings. He expressed how amazing he found her and how intelligent she was. He worked his questions about how they’d make the long distance relationship work and what she liked about him into his writing. The teen spent almost an hour on the letter. Mostly stopping to worry about how to best say what he felt in writing, but that was to be expected, or at least Harry thought so.</p><p>Harry sent the letter off to his French paramour just before dinner that night.</p><p>-Sunday-</p><p>“You sure you want to do this?” Harry asked the Dueling Club members. Quite a few of them had approached Harry and Penny about practice. Penny had agreed and helped with the Dueling Club when she wasn’t studying, doing Head Girl duties, or spending time with Harry. The only reason Harry was here was because Penny couldn’t make it to the club meeting. She was attending some kind of meeting with the Staff and Head Boy Percy Weasley.</p><p>“Of course.” Adrian Pucey nodded, the older Slytherin, along with quite a few others from his House, all looking eager. Members from the other three Houses had formed their own groups and were waiting their turn. Harry didn’t know why Penny agreed to help out but he’d give it his best.</p><p>“So, do you want to do this traditionally and do a series of one on one duels? Or are you wanting a more realistic ‘battle’?” Harry questioned the older teen.</p><p>“Do you really think you can take on ten of us at once?” Adrian questioned; a look between shock and a sneer on his face. Many of the Slytherins had a similar look on their faces too. Especially Malfoy, who was standing just behind Pucey.</p><p>“I should be able to.” Harry informed the Slytherin ‘Team’.</p><p>“Don’t regret your choice, Potter.” Adrian stated stiffly. The nine other Slytherins all stood in line next to him, shoulder to shoulder.</p><p>“We still bow first, correct?” Harry asked for clarification.</p><p>“Of course.” Adrian and the Slytherins all bowed which Harry reciprocated. As soon as they raised up from their bow all ten Slytherins pointed their wands at him and let loose a volley of spells. Seeing a wall of lights and sparks heading for him Harry raised a powerful Protego. The ten spells bombarded the Shield Charm but dispersed without breaking through. Harry focused and six wands were jerked out of their owners’ hands. The sudden squawks at being disarmed almost made Harry laugh. He levitated the wands over to Flitwick and Lupin who were supervising the Club. With only four opponents left, all of them appearing to be Sixth and Seventh Years, Harry inhaled and breathed out the thick smoke of the Fluctus Fumus spell.</p><p>“I can’t see!” One of the Slytherins yelled. Harry heard a few spells being fired into the cloud of smoke. But he’d already moved off to the side. With a brief look of concentration Harry formed a standard Stunning Spell in his palm. A moment later, along with the Slytherins finally using spells to clear the smoke, and Harry had altered the Form of the Charm. With a wave of his arm a bright red wave of mana was released in a crescent shape. The wave passed through all four older Slytherins making them drop to the cushioned ground.</p><p>“That still takes too long.” Harry mused as he flexed his hand. “A widespread Stunner is possible, but changing its Form takes a lot of focus.”</p><p>“Excellent work, Mr. Potter.” Flitwick praised the Third Year.</p><p>“Thank you, Professor.” Harry bowed slightly to his Head of House.</p><p>“So which ‘Team’ wants to go next?” Remus asked the other three House groups.</p><p>“We’ll do it!” An older Gryffindor spoke up. Harry couldn’t recall his name or if he’d ever met the teen before.</p><p>“Alright then, line up.” Remus motioned for them to stand across from Harry. A quick bow and the match started. Harry instantly snatched the wands of five of the ten Gryffindors.</p><p>‘You’d think they’d learn from the previous match they just saw.’ Harry thought to himself as he projected a strong, localized Protego around his forearm and smacked away the only two spells that would have hit him. The Artificer sent a wave of force at the remaining five Gryffindors. None of them could see it as it produced no light and all five staggered back. A few quick swipes of his hands and arms and his remaining five opponents were bound in animated ropes that wound their way around them.</p><p>“I believe that’s the match.” Remus intoned as he flicked his wand and freed the tied up Gryffindors.</p><p>“Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff? Who wants to go next?” Flitwick asked the two remaining groups. It appeared there was a small discussion between the two Houses before Hufflepuff stepped forward.</p><p>“Very good, now bow and you may begin.” Flitwick instructed. The group bowed to Harry and Harry returned the gesture. In the first instant of the match Harry tried his Wandless Summoning trick. To his delight he only managed to snatch one wand this time.</p><p>‘At least they’re learning.’ Harry internally praised the Hufflepuffs. He moved and swayed through the barrage of spells the Badgers were sending at him. ‘So, not letting up, using your numbers against me. That’s smart and shows their trust in each other.’ Harry performed the Similitudo Spell and the Hufflepuffs looked shocked as two Harry’s split and ran in opposite directions. The hesitation cost them. Harry reached out with his mana and then performed a simple household Charm. The Wringing Charm was a precursor to the Drying Charm for laundry. It spun clothes around tightly in order to squeeze water out of them so that they could dry faster on a clothesline. When used on the robes a person was wearing though…</p><p>“Ahh!”</p><p>“What the?!”</p><p>“Hey!”</p><p>“Ack!”</p><p>The Hufflepuffs quickly found their robes wrapped around them like straightjackets. The remaining nine opponents fell to the ground as they struggled to get out of their crushing robes. Harry summoned all of their wands to himself and then ended his spell.</p><p>“A wonderfully inventive use of a simple Charm, Harry!” Flitwick clapped. “Take this to heart students! Even Charms that aren’t offensive or defensive in nature can still be applied in the Dueling Circuit!”</p><p>“Last group, right?” Harry asked Remus. He wanted to get back to his workshop. He had projects to work on still.</p><p>“Yes Harry.” Remus grinned at his surrogate nephew. “Ravenclaw, you’re up!”</p><p>“Hey, go easy on us Harry!” Terry Boot, one of Harry’s year mates called out jokingly.</p><p>“Sure thing Terry!” Harry called back with a smile.</p><p>“Alright, bow and you may begin!” Flitwick called. As soon as the bow was finished Harry didn’t bother trying to summon his Housemates’ wands. A bright flash from a massive Lumos Charm went off right in front of the ten Ravenclaws.</p><p>“My eyes!”</p><p>“Ahh!”</p><p>“I can’t see!”</p><p>“Where is he?”</p><p>Harry quickly bound all ten of the Ravenclaws in writhing ropes. When they were bound up he yanked all of their wands out of their hands.</p><p>“That wasn’t easier, Harry!” Terry complained as he lay on the ground tied up.</p><p>“Sure it was.” Harry chuckled. “You aren’t hurt are you?”</p><p>“Just our pride.” Richard, an older Ravenclaw in Seventh Year, stated as he kept his eyes closed.</p><p>“Well, I can’t do much about that I’m afraid.” Harry shrugged.</p><p>“Another excellent use of a simple Charm, Mr. Potter! Very well done!” Flitwick congratulated his student. “Mr. Potter just pulled off what’s known on the Dueling Circuit as ‘Bradley’s Hello’. It was made famous almost three centuries ago!”</p><p>Harry tuned out the rest of the Dueling History lesson and approached Lupin.</p><p>“Well done, Harry.” Lupin smiled at Harry.</p><p>“Do you have any advanced spells you could teach me?” Harry questioned the werewolf. “I’ve found almost everything useful that isn’t in the Restricted Section.”</p><p>“I might know a few.” Remus chuckled. “Let’s talk about it a bit later. I still need to finish up here.”</p><p>“Thanks Remus, I mean Professor Lupin.” Harry smiled.</p><p>“Get out of here and go snog your girlfriend or something.” Remus jibed.</p><p>“Maybe I will.” Harry retorted while puffing up his chest a bit. The two parted with chuckles and Harry made his way back to his workshop. That had been a good break but he had some projects to make progress on.</p><p>
  <strong>-End Chapter-</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>So Harry’s making progress, that’s good. Voldemort has managed to gain enough strength to forcibly parasite possess Squibs, that’s bad! The relationship(s) have started now that Harry is older. Harry might have finally found the last piece to making his Artifact Sword a reality! Now he just needs to actually figure out HOW to integrate it! Also his ‘out of the box’ thinking is even more apparent in his Dueling! </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Now, what will Voldemort’s increased strength give him time to look into, find out, and do?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Keep reading to find out!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong> <span class="u">Current Mana Levels</span> </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Harry – 5,366</strong>
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  <strong>Tonks – 6,858</strong>
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  <strong>Penelope – 5,974</strong>
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  <strong>Fleur – 6,138</strong>
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  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
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<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Prototypes, Creature Craft, Sword</h2></a>
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  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Some Creature Craft this Chapter! Three new prototypes are in the works as well! Is the Artifact Sword progressing?</strong>
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  <strong>This Story now has its own Tv Tropes Page! Thank TheSinful on FFNet and here on AO3 for all his hard work!</strong>
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  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
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  <strong>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-</strong>
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  <strong>Chapter 23 – Prototypes, Creature Craft, Sword</strong>
</p><p>“Hmm, this is going better than I thought it would.” Harry mused as he used one of the smaller fangs from the Basilisk as the base for a knife. He was having a remarkably easy time forging the fang into the Magical Iron. As he poured his own mana into the billet of metal and bone with each strike of the hammer. The Form continuously came out in the shape he wanted it in. It was almost like the ‘Conquered’ fang was working with him. This could also be because of the Function of the fang itself.</p><p>In Enchanting, Form and Function were intrinsically linked. Making a Form that went against the Function more often than not resulted in failure. Likewise trying to impart a Function onto an improper Form would likely fail as well. But for Harry’s purposes the fang’s Function, to stab, fit with the Form. A knife was meant to stab and cut. With the fang’s Function matching with the knife’s Form, the creation of Harry’s first Creature Craft Item was apparently going to be a rousing success. Shaping the knife came next and Harry set to the task with focus. A quick quench in the slack tub and Harry pulled out a gleaming blade.</p><p>“Come to think of it, iron plus carbon makes Carbon Steel, right?” Harry chuckled as he looked at the Magical Steel Knife. Or would it be a Basilisk Steel Knife because of where the carbon came from? Questions for later, right now he needed to see if his hypothesis about the property of this knife was correct. He approached a rat, one of the many that scurried around Hogwarts; that he’d immobilized and set out on an old desk. The rat was still alive, just held immobile by his spell. With a quiet apology to the rodent Harry pricked it with just the very tip of the knife. A few moments later the rat convulsed for a moment, squeaked softly and then laid still. Harry undid his spell and then touched the rat. Just as he suspected the rodent was dead. The Basilisk’s deadly venom had been imbued as a Magical Effect into the Basilisk Steel Knife.</p><p>“Well, this is going straight back home and into the Rune Safe.” Harry instantly decided. It was far too dangerous to be left anywhere else. A knife that could kill with just a scratch or prick of the blade was not something Harry wanted in anyone’s hands. At least no one he didn’t trust implicitly at the very least. If he ever wanted a creation like this to be of use he’d have to add some kind of security Array into the handle. It would have to be something that would prevent others from using it at all.</p><p>“Well, at the very least the first attempt at Creature Craft was a success,” Harry thought aloud as he wrapped the Basilisk Steel Knife up with thick parchment and leather strips. Until he could get an opportunity to go to Wood End Cottage and place it into his Rune Safe, this was the best he could do. He placed the wrapped knife into the bottom drawer of his work desk, and closed it. He’d long ago added a Ward Lock to that particular drawer, since it was the largest. No one would be able to open the drawer without tearing apart the work desk first. Considering the desk was also in his Hidden Workshop behind another Ward Lock and the Hiding Stone, Harry felt it was at least fairly safe, for now. “That’s another project done.” Harry nodded pleased. “Now let’s get these flying items working if possible.” With that the teen Artificer pulled over two bars of Magical Iron and another notebook of Runic Sequences and prototype Arrays.</p><p>-Beauxbatons ~ France-</p><p>Fleur Delacour was walking on air. Harry’s beautiful snowy owl had arrived this morning at breakfast with a reply from the teen. The reply had been everything she’d hoped it would be! Harry returned her feelings! His genuine feelings and the sincerity he’d written with came out as if they were face to face. The silly young man had even asked about ‘why’ she felt the way she did about him. As if his charming personality and intelligence wasn’t attractive enough. The teen was also one of the very few she didn’t have to worry about drooling. Even those that were ‘resistant’ to the Veela’s natural Allure; eventually fell victim to it after enough exposure. Harry, Tonks, and Penny had no such trouble! Their ‘Alternate Occlumency’ as they called it was a constant protection of the mind. So long as they had mana within them their defenses would never wane.</p><p>She was the luckiest Veela girl in the world! A charming young man truly returned her feelings without influence from the Allure. She had two new ‘girlfriends’ as well. Though whether that would remain platonic or not was yet to be seen. Fleur had a feeling that Tonks at the very least wouldn’t remain platonic. The Metamorph was incredibly outgoing and progressive minded. She was truly a Witch of the modern era instead of being stuck in the past like the majority of the Magical World.</p><p>“I should write back to Harry~” Fleur smiled to herself as she headed for her dorm room. Communication was key to any relationship, but even more so during a long distance one.</p><p>-DMLE ~ Ministry of Magic, London-</p><p>“You’re telling me this item can break wards?” Amelia looked the object; that Auror Tonks had placed on her desk, over carefully. It was five or six centimeters thick and round. It looked to be made of wood and metal, the wood framing the metal disk inside. She could see dozens upon dozens of small marks on the metal and could only surmise that they were Runes of some kind. How the young Artificer had etched useable Runes so small she couldn’t even begin to ponder.</p><p>“Yes, Ma’am.” Tonks smiled at her boss. “Harry used about twenty of these to destroy the wards hiding the Chamber of Secrets.”</p><p>Amelia’s left eyebrow raised in interest as she picked up the device. It would have its uses in the Auror Corps for sure. How many times had a criminal been able to get away in the time it took them to exam, identify, and then tear down the wards they had up? If they could use one of these to instantly dismantle the wards in question they’d have a lot fewer suspects on the run.</p><p>“What are the limitations?” Amelia asked as she met the eyes of her subordinate. “Surely they can’t break every Ward out there?”</p><p>“No, they can’t,” Tonks shook her head. “They can destroy temporary wards easily enough. Older and more powerful wards can de broken if enough of them are used together. Ancient Wards like those on say, Hogwarts, can only be temporarily disabled. Even then it is only in one small section where the Ward Breakers are placed directly. Harry’s break into the Chamber of Secrets only shattered the Wards directly tied to the Chamber. The castle wards that were disabled had already reactivated by the time the Aurors arrived to the Chamber. Or at least that’s what I was told.”</p><p>“They had.” Amelia confirmed. If the wards had been disabled enough she would have taken her Aurors directly into Hogwarts through Apparation or Portkeys. Unfortunately a small, bathroom-sized, hole in the massive and complex wards of Hogwarts wasn’t enough for that. “For something so useful I imagine we’ll be spending a good chunk of our budget for enough of them to be useful for a fiscal quarter.”</p><p>“Harry is willing to sell them, on contract, for one hundred Galleons a piece.” Tonks informed, her hair changing from a bright pink to a dark purple.</p><p>“Didn’t you say these were one time use Items?” Amelia looked wide-eyed at the price for a one off Item.</p><p>“Yes, the activation of the Ward Breaker burns it out, something about casting dozens of Ward-Breaking and Dispelling Charms all at once according to Harry.” Tonks explained with a shrug. She didn’t understand all of the ‘nerd talk’ that Harry tried to explain to her. “It also redirects all negative effects of breaking said wards onto itself, so it’s a much safer option than having people breaking or dispelling unknown wards in masse. The burned out Ward Breaker can take the backlash and be destroyed with no further repercussions.”</p><p>“The Auror Batons cost one hundred Galleons each.” Amelia stated what they both knew. “Yet they can be used over and over. Truthfully they’ve been a blessing since we’ve gotten them made part of the Standard Issue. When wands aren’t being drawn automatically to enforce the law, people seem to act more calmly and rationally. We’ve already broken up a few pub fights at the Leaky Cauldron, the Hogs Head, and the Three Broomsticks since we’ve gotten them. All without a single spell being cast by an Auror. Our reputation in the public eye has gone up quite a bit in the past month because of them.” The Head of the DMLE sighed. “Is there no way to negotiate a lower price?”</p><p>“Harry seemed pretty firm on the price.” Tonks admitted. “Since he started a full business with the Dwarves he’s been getting advice on pricing and business from them. But I’ll ask him. I might be able to negotiate for the first batch to be reduced price to prove their effectiveness. The Baton he gifted to me went over well because you cleared me to use it in the field. So he might understand your position of needing to see it in action before you spend a large chunk of the DMLE’s quarterly budget on such Items.” The Metamorph smiled at her boss.</p><p>“Thank you, Auror Tonks, please let me know as soon as possible.” Amelia gave a small smile to her subordinate.</p><p>“Harry told me you can keep that Ward Breaker.” Tonks motioned to the Item still lying on Amelia’s desk. “Though Harry did say that if you try and disassemble it, that it’ll burn out and destroy itself, so yeah. He’s rather protective of his Runic Sequences and Arrays. Probably best to use it when it’s really necessary.”</p><p>“I’ll remember that.” Amelia nodded as she picked up the Ward Breaker and placed it in her desk. She quickly latched the physical lock and then spelled it closed with a few choice spells of her own. Tonks saluted as she left Amelia’s Office and went to return to her Mentor, Mad-Eye Moody, for a patrol of Knockturn Alley. Apparently Diagon and Diurn weren’t ‘real’ enough in the old Senior Auror’s opinion.</p><p>-Hogwarts-</p><p>Penny sighed, she was trying to keep her composure and remain calm. She was the good Prefect that all the younger Ravenclaws looked up to since her Fifth Year. Now she was Head Girl and expected to be a good example for the entire student body. But there was only so much even she could take. Percy Weasley’s attempts to ‘woo’ her were far and away the fastest things to wear down her patience these days. The Head Boy just wouldn’t take a hint! If he’d shown interest a few years ago maybe she’d have given the red-head a chance. As it stood now though, and had since last school year, she was interested in someone else. The fact that her relationship with Harry was official now only made Percy’s continued attempts more annoying.</p><p>“So you see, Penelope, we could have a very lovely time together at the next Hogsmeade Trip.” Percy prattled on, not so much talking <strong>to</strong> her as he was talking <strong>at</strong> her.</p><p>“For the last time, Percy, I’m not interested and I have a boyfriend.” Penny exhaled with a gusty sigh. “I appreciate your feelings, but I can’t and don’t return them.”</p><p>“Harry Potter is much too young for such things.” Percy dismissed casually. “He is only thirteen and you are a legal adult of seventeen now. It would be proper for you two to end this dalliance before people start to whisper about it.”</p><p>Penny felt her anger flare up at the red-head’s dismissal of her and Harry’s relationship. Sure there was a small age gap between them, but that was no one’s business but their own! The Law of Magical Britain literally had a ‘Seven Year Clause’ in it for couples that started dating in their teen years. Hell, most people in Magical Britain referred to it as the ‘Hogwarts Clause’! It basically stated that if one partner attained their Maturity before the other their relationship would not be deemed ‘illegal’ or ‘inappropriate’ in the eyes of the Law. It had been on the books for almost four hundred years already. No one had any inclination to try and change it. So Percy bringing it up showed he either didn’t know the Law, or he just didn’t care and was going after her because he wanted her for himself.</p><p>“Harry Potter is the youngest Artificer in History.” Penny began as she whirled around with a glare. “Harry Potter is a wonderful young man that treats me like a Queen. Harry Potter is intelligent, kind, thoughtful, admirable, and brilliant! Harry Potter is a better Wizard and a better Person than you’ll ever be! You are a dismissive, arrogant, pompous, self-righteous, brown nose who can barely think for himself!”</p><p>Percy reeled back as if he’d been struck and stared at Penny wide-eyed.</p><p>“Get this through your head, Weasley! I. Am. Not. Interested! Leave me alone!” Penny practically growled at the Head Boy. She held up her right hand and flames appeared, swirling and thrashing around as if they were alive. “The next time you try to talk at me like I’m lesser than you; or the next time I hear a single bad word about Harry from you, then you’ll be facing me in an Honor Duel. Do I make myself perfectly clear?” Penny demanded as she glared into Percy’s eyes.</p><p>“Y-Yes…v-very well then, Penelope…I’ll just be going.” Percy turned and quickly walked off, just short of jogging away from the incensed blonde. Penny huffed as she dispelled the flames in her palm and continued on her way. Maybe now the prat would finally leave her alone.</p><p>Walking up to the door to the Hidden Workshop, Penny felt a smile return to her face reflexively. Having been keyed into the updated Ward Lock near the end of last year Penny opened the door easily. Seeing Harry floating against the ceiling with a plate of metal tied to each of his shins was a surprise, but it only made her giggle as she closed the door.</p><p>“Having fun, Harry?” Penny asked with a grin.</p><p>“Loads.” Harry smiled down at her from the ceiling.</p><p>“Can you get down?” She asked with a suppressed chuckle.</p><p>“I can fall down…” Harry admitted after a moment.</p><p>“No control?” Penny giggled as she reached out with her mana and slowly brought Harry down. There was quite a lot of resistance to her spell though. Almost like trying to pull an air-filled beach ball underwater.</p><p>“The Directional Sequence and the Altitude Sequence both failed.” Harry explained as he deactivated the metal plates. He untied them from his shins one by one and set them on top of his work desk. “I’m not sure why they failed though, so until I can figure that out I’m back to square one for my own Flying Item.”</p><p>“Hmm, I think I can take your mind off that.” Penny smiled at him, she then pulled him into a sweet kiss and the two enjoyed their lip lock for a few moments.</p><p>“Forget what?” Harry asked as they separated.</p><p>“Exactly.” Penny giggled as they held each other. This affection and love was what that prat Percy would never understand. Harry and Penny would spend the rest of the afternoon cuddling. Penny told Harry of Percy’s attempt at ‘wooing’ her and Harry shook his head. All of Hogwarts already knew about their relationship, so Harry didn’t understand what the Head Boy thought he was going to accomplish. If he was being honest, Harry was surprised their relationship hadn’t made it into the Daily Prophet yet. Then again, that was probably only a matter of time. Maybe he should talk with Sirius about getting a Solicitor just in case.</p><p>-Friday ~ November 19th – After Classes-</p><p>“Expecto Patronum!” Harry called out as he held his wand aloft. From the tip of the Holly and Phoenix Feather wand came a cloud of bright silvery mist. Harry sighed as the mist spread, thinned out, and then disappeared.</p><p>“That was very good, Harry.” Remus congratulated the Artificer.</p><p>“Not complete though.” Harry huffed as he thought over the spell. The Patronus Charm worked off of understanding the spell itself plus a powerful happy emotion. At the moment Harry was using the memories of his relationship with Tonks, Penny, and Fleur. They’d shown the most results so far and had taken him from mere wisps to the bright mist.</p><p>“The Patronus is very advanced spell work, Harry.” Remus assured his surrogate nephew. “Most Wizards and Witches never learn it, and even those that do learn often can’t complete it and make a corporeal Patronus.”</p><p>“Maybe not,” Harry shook his head. “But I don’t like leaving spells unfinished and not mastered.” Though, to Harry’s annoyance, without his wand he couldn’t get the Patronus Charm to form at all. Not even a wisp of the silvery mist. This frustrated the teen Wizard to no end. He was used to being able to cast spells without need of a focus. To find a spell that he couldn’t use wandlessly, and then find out he couldn’t complete it even with a wand, was maddening to the Harry.</p><p>“Give it some time. You’ve only been practicing for just over a week. Try to find an even happier memory if you can.” Remus advised. “It can only help.”</p><p>“I’ll try.” Harry agreed as he stowed his wand back in his holster and bid Remus a good afternoon. Leaving the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom Harry made his way to his workshop. A bit of work with Runecraft should help take his mind off his failure with the Patronus Charm. Entering his workshop Harry was surprised to see Tonks sitting in a chair next to his work desk.</p><p>“Hiya, Harry!” Tonks greeted cheerfully with a wave.</p><p>“Hey Tonks, didn’t know you were coming for a visit.” Harry smiled at his oldest girlfriend. That thought was still enough to put a smile on his face. He walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. Tonks returned the embrace with a smile and kissed his cheek for good measure.</p><p>“This isn’t entirely a personal visit, I’m afraid.” Tonks grinned at him. “It was hard to get a visit with you between work and having to schedule a time when I wouldn’t ‘interrupt lessons.’ according to McGonagall.” Both of them chuckled at the stern Deputy Headmistress.</p><p>“So what is the non-personal reason for your visit, Nym?” Harry used the name only HE was allowed to use with Tonks. Technically Penny and Fleur could get away with it too, but Tonks didn’t want anyone thinking they could get away with using her first name or any derivative of it. She grinned mischievously as he sat down while she stood up.</p><p>“Well Harry, as your salesgirl to the DMLE, I’ve come across a bit of a roadblock with the Ward Breakers.” Tonks began as she walked around the desk to stand at his side.</p><p>“What kind of roadblock?” Harry raised an eyebrow in question.</p><p>“Madam Bones is a bit put off by the price of a one use Item.” Tonks informed him with her grin still in place. “She was hoping that you’d negotiate a lower price.”</p><p>“I was advised by the Dwarves that the Ward Breakers were worth at least one hundred Galleons each. I’d rather not turn my back on their advice or business acumen.” Harry told his, currently blue-haired, girlfriend.</p><p>“Yeah, I told her you were pretty firm on the price.” Tonks chuckled as she undid the clasp of her robe and shrugged it off. Harry’s eyes took in her t-shirt and jeans quickly. “But I told her I’d try to negotiate with you about reducing the cost of the first order, just so the DMLE can see how useful the Ward Breakers are.”</p><p>“Negotiate, huh?” Harry smiled at her and Tonks returned it. The Metamorph straddled his lap and brought their lips together. The couple happily kissed for a bit, just enjoying being close after their separation by Hogwarts restarting. Tonks deepened the kiss and tongues came into play. Harry had no real experience with French Kissing so Tonks guided him. Small moans emerged from their lips as they indulged and eventually pulled back slightly out of breath.</p><p>“So Harry, about that ‘discount’~” Tonks grinned teasingly. Harry played as if he was thinking hard about it before replying.</p><p>“I guess I could accept a ten percent discount on the first order.” Harry grinned at her. Watching her hair turn pink and lengthen slightly, Harry chuckled, Tonks liked to change her hair on the whim after all. This seemed more deliberate though.</p><p>“I think we can do better.” Tonks laughed as her t-shirt suddenly stretched across her swelling bosom. “How about this?” With that she reached down and grabbed the hem of her shirt. Slowly she pulled it up and Harry watched transfixed as her large breasts got caught on the hem. With a teasing wink Tonks bounced a bit on his lap until her breasts bounced out of her shirt. Harry, like any teenager, happily took in the sight of such large perky boobs. The fact that they were right in his face only made it better!</p><p>“Maybe fifteen percent.” Harry muttered as he took in the sight of his girlfriend’s breasts. Tonks cracked up before she took his hands and placed them on her chest.</p><p>“Touch them, Harry.” Tonks encouraged him with a warm smile. Honestly neither of them really cared about the discount. It was just a fun game to play while they furthered their relationship. Harry gently cupped her large breasts before giving them a gentle squeeze. Tonks hummed in pleasure as Harry got more and more into his exploration.</p><p>“They’re so soft…” Harry murmured as he explored Tonks’ chest.</p><p>“Do you like my tits, Harry?” Tonks asked rhetorically.</p><p>“They’re amazing.” Harry replied anyway as his thumbs brushed over the hardened nipples, drawing a short gasp from her.</p><p>“Twenty percent off amazing?” Tonks continued their little game with a grin.</p><p>“I guess…” Harry gave her a grin of his own. She giggled a bit since his hands hadn’t stopped their fondling of her boobs even as he said this.</p><p>“Then how about this?” Tonks questioned as she moved his hands from her breasts and pulled his face into them. Harry was shocked for a bit, he felt his cheeks heat up in nervousness, but then he buried his face into the soft boobs. Tonks gently ran her fingers through his hair as he nuzzled her breasts. A few moments later she gasped as Harry took one of her nipples into his mouth and began to lick and suck on it. “Harry~ Mmm~ Naughty Artificer aren’t you~?”</p><p>“I try.” Harry mumbled as his face was still buried in boobs.</p><p>“Then your corruption is almost complete~” Tonks chuckled as she rolled her hips on his lap. “Mmm~ Suck on my tits~”</p><p>“Yes.” Harry replied as he switched nipples and Tonks pulled him closer. His hands quickly found her bum and began to squeeze. Tonks hummed contently as she rolled her hips in time with his squeezes.</p><p>“Mmm~ alright lucky boy,” Tonks chuckled as she, reluctantly, pulled Harry’s mouth away from her tits. “That’s enough for now.”</p><p>“Aww,” Harry groaned. “Do we have to stop?” Tonks chuckled considering his hands hadn’t left her ass yet.</p><p>“I think that was worth a thirty percent discount, don’t you?” Tonks questioned with a playful wink.</p><p>“Twenty five, because I wanted more.” Harry countered even as his hands fondled her bum.</p><p>“Deal.” Tonks laughed before their lips met again. She’d only intended to ‘seal the deal’ with a kiss. But that quickly became another make-out session, French Kissing and all. Pulling away a minute later Tonks gazed at him lovingly. “Alright now, Mister, I do have to go soon. McGonagall said I needed to leave before dinner. Apparently meals are also something I’m not allowed to ‘interrupt’.”</p><p>“Alright…” Harry grumbled as Tonks got off his lap and pulled her shirt down. She picked up her robe and put it back on, using her Wandless Magic to brush the dirt and dust off of it.</p><p>“I’ll see you on Yule Break, Harry.” Tonks smiled at him. Harry stood up and pecked her lips. She kissed his cheek in return and they left the workshop together. With one last hug Harry headed towards the Great Hall, Tonks headed back to McGonagall’s Office to use the Floo. It was the same way she got into Hogwarts, and so it was the same way she had to leave. Well, unless she wanted McGonagall to hunt her down at any rate.</p><p>-Friday December 3rd ~ After Classes-</p><p>“I’m still against this.” Penny informed Harry for the third time that day.</p><p>“I know, Penny, but it’s the only way.” Harry smiled, trying to reassure his girlfriend.</p><p>“Are you sure you can’t do this another way?” Penny questioned. Her worries for him clear in her eyes.</p><p>“This is the best way I could find, Penny.” Harry shook his head.</p><p>“Fine…but I don’t like it.” Penny grumbled and Harry pulled her into a hug. She held him tightly, as if afraid to let him go.</p><p>“It’s just for the weekend, and then it’ll be done.” Harry assured her. Penny sighed but nodded her acceptance. With that Harry locked himself inside the hidden workshop until he finished the culmination of two years-worth of planning, learning, testing, failing, succeeding, and multiple prototypes.</p><p>Harry entered his smithy and gathered his materials together. Sylvuan was ready to go, Vitris Auri was prepared and being kept liquid at the moment. Isimun was etched with the proper Runic Sequence. Everything was ready to go. With everything checked Harry ignited the Forge and started working the temperature higher. Forging out a billet of Sylvuan, Harry pounded it into proper length and shape. His mana was poured into the metal with each strike and the metal of his own Alchemic Creation formed to his desires. He’d only have one chance at this, he’d have to spend the next two days only eating quick meals and sleeping in one or perhaps two hour naps at a time.</p><p>-Saturday December 4th ~ Sunrise-</p><p>Sweat poured down Harry body. The slight musculature he’d been developing since puberty started was being pushed to its limits. Isimun couldn’t be changed by Magic after it had been formed, it could only be etched with Runes. Forging out a Sylvuan and Vitris Auri guard and etching the corresponding Runic Sequence into it to tie the Isimun to the rest of the blade was a challenge. It was why he couldn’t do this on a normal sleep schedule. Each new piece of his sword had to be created to the exact Form to match up with the Isimun and the rest of the materials. Etching still warm metal had led to a few small burns already, but it was absolutely critical that the Sequences matched and lined up properly. Any mistakes would cost him the sword and all the effort he’d put into it.</p><p>“Come on, Potter, head in the game!” Harry shook himself back into focus. He pounded the handle of the sword into proper shape with swing after swing. His arms hurt but his mana would compensate for physical fatigue right now. He still had to bond the blade and Isimun together and then etch and fill in the Sylvuan with the Vitris Auri. After that was done he’d have to let it cool slowly in the Forge. Then a last addition of Sylvuan to complete the blade and only then would he be able to see the finish line!</p><p>-Sunday December 5th ~ Afternoon-</p><p>“Almost there, almost there,” Harry repeated like a mantra as his hands, burned in multiple places, filled in the last of the Runes on the handle and guard with his own blood. His Alchemic Pen had been filled with his very lifeblood to complete this second to last step. This was to Bind the Artifact Sword to his Bloodline. Every descendant would be able to add their blood to the sword. His children when he eventually passed it on. Their children when they received it, then their children’s children and so on. Each time the half of the blood that could be traced back to him would be linked and form a chain through the generations. No one that wasn’t part of his direct descent would be able to access the sword’s innate power. It would just be a rather powerful Magic Sword in their hands. Only a Potter bound to the sword through blood would be able to use the true abilities that his sword possessed.</p><p>“Last step…” Harry huffed as he took the hot, forged, etched, and filled sword to the quench tank. He filled the still hot blade with his mana and then dunked it. Harry poured everything he had left of his mana into the sword. If a Non-Magical Blacksmith had tried to do this, all the different metals being this hot would have reacted differently to being quenched at the sword would most likely have cracked. Harry’s very Will, through his mana, was keeping the Magic Sword together as it cooled and solidified into the finished piece. While he was linked through his mana to the sword he could feel and know everything about it. It was an odd experience; he could literally feel all the work and effort that went into making each constituent part of the sword. He felt as they all came together in the quench tank. Then he felt what he could only describe as a ‘pulse’ move through him from the sword. A new Magical Presence now existed in the smithy, very similar to Harry’s own, but still entirely unique.</p><p>“There you are…” Harry chuckled as he pulled the sword out of the tank with shaky arms. To Harry’s eyes, through the skill he’d learned and developed to ‘examine’ Magical Items, he saw the Magical Aura around his finished sword. Powerful, but sedate, as if waiting for when it was needed. His sword was a Masterwork if he did say so himself. Taking the sword over to his work table inside the smithy he set about cleaning it with shaky hands. He’d need to craft a nice handle for it. The metal was the proper shape, now it just needed wood, or perhaps bone, and maybe some leather. “Now there’s a pretty sword.” Harry whispered to the blade as he finished cleaning it.</p><p>“Harry…?” Penny called as she knocked on the smithy door. “Harry, are you alright?” Harry really wanted to answer her but he was done. The ache in his body was real. There was a deep, bone deep, exhaustion setting in now that his task was done. He was able to turn his head and see Penny opening the door. Her warm brown eyes widened when they saw the state he was in. “HARRY!” The blonde Head Girl rushed over to him and took him into her arms.</p><p>“Hey…Penny…I finished my sword…” Harry whispered tiredly.</p><p>“I can see that.” Penny only glanced briefly at the sword lying on the work table. “What did you do to yourself, Harry? You’re shaking, burned, and your hands are a mess.” She pulled him against her gently as she laid her head on top of is. “I think you went too far too soon, Harry.”</p><p>“Maybe…maybe…” Harry attempted to shrug, though the best he got was a slight shake of his shoulders.</p><p>“We’re going to Madam Pomfrey, no arguments.” Penny informed him as she used her Wandless Magic to levitate him.</p><p>“Okay…” Harry murmured tiredly as he started to doze off. His last thought was about how strong his Artifact Sword felt. He was damn proud of the magical power he’d felt in his blade. It was far stronger than he was right now.</p><p>Artifacts could be stronger than the one that made them. Base Magical Power for an Artifact was determined by the materials used; the power of the Artificer, and the skill of the said Artificer. Isimun, Sylvuan, Vitris Auri, and Wizard Blood were all decently magically powerful. Isimun was clearly the most powerful of the materials by far. But Harry had poured his own mana into the sword throughout its creation only recovering an hours-worth of rest for his mana, sometimes two, between cycles of forging, etching, and hammering. He’d poured every bit of his mana into his creation on Friday, Saturday, and today. If the Arithmancy was correct Harry’s Artifact Sword should possess almost three times the power he currently did.</p><p>It was truly an amazingly powerful sword. Its use as a focus would see it standing toe to toe with even legends like the Sword of Erdunn. Perhaps even mythical blades said to be created or given by Gods. Though that would remain to be seen, for now.</p><p>For now Harry was damn tired. Spending three days physically exerting oneself while constantly keeping yourself in a state of near Magical Exhaustion would do that. Harry could ponder no more as he fell asleep before they were even out of the corridor his hidden workshop was in.</p><p>
  <strong>-End Chapter-</strong>
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  <strong>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-</strong>
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  <strong>It is COMPLETE!!! After two years of learning, testing, researching, and prototypes, the Artifact Sword is complete!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>What will Harry call it? What are its full capabilities? Will Harry’s fame and reputation as an Artificer grow? What will he complete next?</strong>
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  <strong>Tonks is going to be so nettled at Harry for hurting himself like this!</strong>
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  <strong>No more fun ‘negotiations’ for Harry for a while!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>What comes next? Another panel of Artificers? Testing the Sword?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Keep reading to find out!</strong>
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  <span class="u"> <strong>Current Mana Levels</strong> </span>
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  <strong>Harry – 5,502</strong>
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  <strong>Tonks – 7,006</strong>
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  <strong>Penelope – 6,014</strong>
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  <strong>Fleur – 6,208</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Recovery, Testing, Panel</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Time to Recover from Artifact Creation, then its Testing time! We'll be needing another Panel of Artificers to certify!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
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  <strong>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-</strong>
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  <strong>Chapter 24 – Recovery, Testing, Panel</strong>
</p><p>Harry sighed as Madam Pomfrey hovered around him. The Matron of the Hospital Wing had been fretting over him since yesterday. Penny had levitated him here after he’d finished his Artifact Sword and fallen asleep. Seeing a student exhausted, physically and magically, burned in various areas, and brought in unconscious had almost sent Pomfrey into a fit. He’d woken up this morning to three vials of potion he had to drink. Not the most pleasant thing to do first thing in the morning. Penny had visited at breakfast and stayed with him until classes began, so that was nice. Now came what he was expecting since he woke up.</p><p>“Good morning, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore smiled at the teen Artificer.</p><p>“Good morning, Headmaster.” Harry returned the greeting.</p><p>“You gave us quite the shock when Head Girl Clearwater brought you into the Hospital Wing yesterday.” Dumbledore informed him with a classic ‘worried grandfather’ look. Harry figured the man had decades to perfect said look. The Headmaster was somewhere north of one hundred thirty years old.</p><p>“Sorry about that, Headmaster.” Harry apologized with a slight bow of his head. “I had thrown myself into my work a bit too much. Or at least that’s what Penny says I did.” He cracked a slight grin.</p><p>“Being passionate about one’s work is a good thing.” Dumbledore nodded, with a small smile of his own. “But we can’t have students harming themselves like that. Poppy tells me that you had both muscular fatigue and symptoms of prolonged magical exhaustion. Could you tell me how your Enchanting brought you to such a state?”</p><p>“I wasn’t just Enchanting, Headmaster.” Harry shook his head. Seeing Dumbledore’s curious look, he continued. “I was Artificing. I finished a project two years in the making, sir.”</p><p>“You’ve crafted another Artifact?” Dumbledore looked a mix of impressed and confused. “Your last Artifact did not leave you in such a ragged state, Mr. Potter.”</p><p>“My Rune Safe was almost accidental in its Artifact status.” Harry admitted with a shrug. “This time I fully intended to create an Artifact, a powerful one at that.”</p><p>“Might I inquire as to what Artifact now resides in Hogwarts?” Dumbledore questioned; his tone noticeably different. Harry looked at Headmaster Dumbledore right now, he realized, rather than the genial grandfather figure he acted as for others.</p><p>“A sword that cannot cut anything.” Harry let himself smile slightly.</p><p>“Cannot cut anything?” Dumbledore looked truly confused and Harry wondered how rare that look actually was.</p><p>“Nothing physical anyway.” Harry shrugged with a shake of his head.</p><p>“I must admit to my curiosity.” Dumbledore gave his grandfatherly smile.</p><p>“I still have to craft a handle and a sheath for it,” Harry remarked thoughtfully. “Then I’ll need to test out its full capabilities, of course. Once that’s done I’ll need another Panel of Artificers to come and examine it themselves.”</p><p>“Mr. Potter?” Dumbledore interrupted the teen’s planning. Harry looked at the old man after blinking for a second. “While it is fine to make plans, as Headmaster I do still need to know if this sword is in anyway dangerous to the students or staff.”</p><p>“Oh, right, well it shouldn’t be.” Harry shook his head. “It can’t cut anything physical. I guess you could still hit someone with it, but that’s true of a Beater’s bat too. As for my sword, it’s a Spell Cleaver. It cuts through Magic, rather than things.”</p><p>“A Spell Cleaver?” Dumbledore looked perplexed. “I don’t think I’ve come across that term before.”</p><p>“I might have made it up, for all I know.” Harry gave a half shrug. “I made my sword unable to cut physical objects in exchange for cutting through all forms of Magic. Well, theoretically, anyway. I still have to test it to find out its limitations.”</p><p>“That still could prove dangerous, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore gave him a look.</p><p>“It’s not nearly so dangerous in anyone else’s hands, Headmaster.” Harry raised his hands in front of him. “I’ve already tied it to my Bloodline, no one but I can currently use the full range of my sword’s abilities. Not until I have children at any rate; which I don’t plan on for quite a few more years.” He chuckled and Dumbledore looked mirthful as well.</p><p>“Very well, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore stood from his chair. “I would like to be present for your tests of this Artifact however; for safety’s sake, as well as damage control if something should go wrong.”</p><p>“I can agree to that.” Harry nodded. Dumbledore smiled at him again.</p><p>“I wish you a speedy recovery, Mr. Potter. I’m sure Head Girl Clearwater will make sure that you don’t fall behind on your classwork.” Dumbledore mentioned with a chuckle. “A good day to you, Mr. Potter.”</p><p>“To you as well, Headmaster.” Harry nodded. Dumbledore left the Hospital Wing shortly afterwards and Harry was left to run ideas through his mind. Lunch came and went quietly. Like clockwork Penny came in after classes with his daily assignments and homework. Harry pretended to pout but Penny was having none of it. So Harry set to work with his girlfriend by his side. They had dinner together in the Hospital Wing that evening. Madam Pomfrey had shooed Penny out afterwards and began to check Harry over with her wand.</p><p>“Well, Mr. Potter, the good news is you seem to be mostly well again. Your Magic is still rather low though. You’ll be staying another day while I check your recovery.” Madam Pomfrey informed the teen.</p><p>“Yes, Ma’am.” Harry replied with a sigh. Penny would insist he stay if Madam Pomfrey recommended it. There wasn’t much point in arguing. He wondered if it would be tomorrow or the day after when he’d receive a written reprimand from Tonks and one from Fleur as well. Knowing Penny she had already written to the others. He should be thankful to Hogwarts, really. It was currently acting as a barrier between him and Tonks’ worry and frustration with him.</p><p>‘I’ll make her something nice for her birthday.’ Harry thought to himself as he lay down for the night. ‘She’ll forgive me then, probably.’</p><p>-Tuesday ~ Second Day of Recovery-</p><p>It was a fairly quiet day in the Hospital Wing. Penny came to have breakfast with him again. Harry finished his homework from yesterday. Penny came with Hermione, Padma, Mandy, and Luna after classes.</p><p>“How’d you do this to yourself, Harry?” Hermione asked gently. Harry looked fine now, but Penny had informed them of Madam Pomfrey’s initial diagnosis. All of his study buddies looked curious as well.</p><p>“Artificing is a bit different from Enchanting, Hermione.” Harry informed the brunette. “To create a True Artifact takes time, a lot of trial and error, testing, and quite a bit of mana. My Rune Safe was a fairly tame creation in comparison to most Artifacts. But it was only a Minor Artifact because of its construction and limit of use. This time I went for a much more powerful Artifact, so the amount of time and mana needed to create it increased proportionately.”</p><p>“So what did you make?” Mandy questioned; her dark brown eyes curious.</p><p>“A sword.” Harry replied with a grin.</p><p>“An Artifact Sword?” Padma blinked “Like the Sword of Gryffindor or Excalibur?”</p><p>“Not sure it can compare to Excalibur, since no one seems to know all that much about that particular sword. But it can probably stand on a similar level of the Sword of Gryffindor.” Harry smiled. He happily omitted any knowledge of the Sword of Gryffindor becoming the Sword of Erdunn. He wouldn’t want that bit of information to get out for a while, after all.</p><p>“Can we see it?” Luna asked with an excited grin.</p><p>“When I’m done testing it and making a sheath for it.” Harry nodded to the small blonde who smiled brightly.</p><p>“I brought your classwork and homework for the day, Harry.” Penny smiled at him. Harry could see the amusement Penny was getting from delivering his schoolwork to him. He’d take it though, give Penny this small ‘revenge’ for worrying her like he’d done.</p><p>“Thank you, Penny.” Harry looked at her flatly. Penny was still all smiles as she handed him the assignments.</p><p>-Wednesday ~ After Classes-</p><p>“Intent-based Wards aren’t easy.” Harry grimaced as he looked through a large tome on Warding. To determine intent and then prevent certain actions, such as entering an area or picking something up, was quite the Arithmancy puzzle.</p><p>Luckily for Harry it was also a well-researched Branch of Warding, so he was able to find some examples. Taking some Basilisk bone Harry set about hollowing it out and shaping it with his blacksmithing tools. After some time he’d gotten the bone hollowed out to fit the tang of his blade. Shaping it down into a handle was then followed by etching the Ward Sequence into the bone. Harry primed the Ward on the new handle with his own mana and then attached it to his Artifact Sword. Seeing the Ward Sequence glow brightly and then dim made Harry smile. The handle had integrated properly and now the Ward on the handle was part of the sword as a whole.</p><p>“Now I’ll wrap it with leather, and then I’ll get to work on carving and forming a sheath for it.” Harry planned aloud as he worked. It had been a while since Harry had worked with wood. Luckily he happened to live right next to the most Magical Forest in Britain for ten months of the year. He had plenty of wood, both magical and non-magical to work with. A quick call to Tayla and the Family House Elf was more than happy to quickly pop around the edge of the Forbidden Forest and collect sections of wood. The forest was absolutely full of fallen trees and branches after all; he might as well make use of them.</p><p>-Thursday ~ After Classes-</p><p>“What are you going over so thoroughly, Harry?” Penny asked her boyfriend with a fond smile.</p><p>“I’m making the sheath for my Artifact Sword.” Harry smiled back as he showed Penny his work. “You remember that ‘Spell Ward’ idea I showed you in my journal? I should be able to make it work with this. A sheaths’ Function is to hold a blade and to protect anyone from its edge. If I match that Function of Protection with a similar Array then I should be able to create a sheath that blocks spells, including things like Summoning Charms and the like. That’ll keep the sword from being taken while it’s sheathed.”</p><p>“You’re really taking safety seriously for this sword, Harry. I’m impressed.” Penny pulled him into a side hug.</p><p>“I have to be, it’s a very powerful Artifact, one that I’ll pass down to children someday.” Harry looked at her with a soft grin. Penny’s cheeks went pink before she kissed his cheek.</p><p>“Don’t go making plans that far in advance just yet, boyfriend of mine.” Penny giggled. “Neither of us is ready for that kind of responsibility yet.”</p><p>“Maybe not, but it’s good to plan ahead when possible.” Harry chuckled.</p><p>“Don’t forget your homework though.” Penny teased him with a grin.</p><p>“Yes, mother…” Harry jokingly rolled his eyes. He broke into a laugh when he felt a ball of mana ‘pop’ against his head.</p><p>-Saturday-</p><p>Harry spent most of the morning carving out a length of wood for his sheath from a thick fallen limb of an ancient Magical Oak Tree. Tayla had, as most well-treated House Elves often did, gone above and beyond for him. She’d gone far deeper into the Forbidden Forest than he intended for her to. But her results spoke for themselves. The thick fallen limb she’d brought back still lingered with Magic even though it was probably separated from the tree many years ago. It showed none of the usual signs of decay and rot, only being dry enough to work with. Tayla wouldn’t accept any kind of reward, of course, but Harry had almost made the House Elf burst into happy tears with the sincere and genuine thanks he lavished on her. He was sure the Elf was probably still dancing around Wood End Cottage from her joy.</p><p>By the afternoon he had the two halves of his sheath carved and hollowed out to carefully hold his sword. Now came the time to etch the ‘Spell Ward’ Array he’d developed. He was going to make sure he wouldn’t have to replace the sheath for decades by making it to the best of his ability. For that very reason he was using Sylvuan as the Rune Material to fill in the etchings. Covering the wood in ‘Conquered’ Basilisk Hide would also increase the Magic Resistance the sheath had. Penny had come to watch him most of the day as he worked. She worked on her own homework and also made sure he took breaks for meals. When Harry sealed the edges of the two halves into the Form of the sheath that evening he smiled. Carving a ‘Permanent Adherence’ Sequence onto the outside of the sheathe Harry carefully attached the Basilisk Hide to the length of the sheath. He capped both ends of the sheath with Sylvuan as well for durability. Both would also permanently attach to the sheath to make sure it stayed together.</p><p>“A bloody good Enchanted Object; if I do say so myself.” Harry congratulated himself with a grin as he finally sheathed his Artifact Sword for the first time. With this he was now ready to test the sword. Lucky for him tomorrow was Sunday, so he had all day free.</p><p>-Sunday ~ Morning after Breakfast-</p><p>“Headmaster, Professor Flitwick, glad you both could come.” Harry welcomed Dumbledore and his Head of House. Penny was already with him and his study buddies all stood behind her eagerly.</p><p>“I must say, Mr. Potter, for a young man you cut an impressive figure with that sword on your hip.” Flitwick smiled at his student. Indeed Harry had his sheathed sword on his left hip and looked stronger for it. Whether that was because the boy was in the middle of a growth spurt or was entirely caused by the swords’ presence was something the short Wizard didn’t think about.</p><p>“Thank you, sir.” Harry nodded to his Head of House.</p><p>“I wouldn’t want to miss this, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore smile genially. “I’ll trust in your skills as an Artificer. But it makes me worry less to have members of the Faculty present for these tests in case anything was to go wrong.”</p><p>“That’s understandable, Headmaster.” Harry agreed. “Thank you both for taking time out of your day to supervise. Both Professors gave him smiles and waved away his thanks. Harry walked over to Penny, who would be helping him test a few things.</p><p>“Ready?” Penny asked him with a grin.</p><p>“As I’ll ever be.” Harry nodded back with confidence.</p><p>The two walked a good distance away from the others and Harry drew the sword. None of the onlookers saw much ‘special’ about the sword. It was shiny, maybe unnaturally so, but the blade was fairly plain. It didn’t look any different than a regular double-edge sword. The guard appeared to be the same metal as the blade but inlaid with what looked like gold. The handle of the sword appeared to be leather-wrapped and nothing fancy.</p><p>“Huh, I thought it would be fancier.” Mandy commented. She got agreeing nods from Hermione and Padma. Luna just watched on with a smile.</p><p>“Test one: Weaker Spells, let’s begin.” Harry nodded to Penny. Penny returned the nod and held up her hand. From her fingers the blue bolt of a Flipendo Jinx was launched at Harry. Harry brought his sword up and as soon as the Jinx touched the blade it vanished.</p><p>“Looks like it worked.” Penny smiled at seeing the success.</p><p>“Let’s keep going.” Harry grinned as he motioned for Penny to use another spell. Dumbledore, Flitwick, Padma, Hermione, Luna and Mandy all watched on as spell after spell disappeared as soon as it made contact with the blade. Stinging Hexes vanished, Expelliarmus was blocked, and even a Stunning Spell simply disappeared when it came in contact with the sword.</p><p>“Alright, I’m going to use a Fireball, if you’re ready,” Penny told Harry. The Artificer only nodded back eagerly. Penny sighed even as a grin made its way onto her face. Harry would always be ready to test out his creations, regardless of the fact that he might get injured. “Alright, here it comes.” The Head Girl conjured a fireball into her palm with a snap. She then sent it towards Harry with a thought.</p><p>“It could have been a little faster.” Harry chuckled as he watched the fireball move towards him at the equivalent of jogging speed. When it was close enough, Harry raised his sword and the fireball dispersed when it touched the blade. “Well, that proves that conjured elements can be dispersed.”</p><p>“Should I try a water ball next?” Penny asked from her position. Harry gave her a nod and the blonde conjured the sphere of water. Sending it towards Harry at the same speed as the Fireball, they were all pleased to see the conjured water vanish just the same.</p><p>“Time to really test out the range I can give this.” Harry announced and Penny looked at him worriedly while everyone else just looked confused. Harry raised his left hand and concentrated. Far above him, at least fifty meters in the air, a large fireball crackled into existence. The sphere of flames was easily the size of a carriage and Harry yanked his hand down in a fist. The large fireball came descending down with speed and Harry took his sword in both hands. The blade glowed faintly white-blue and Harry swung it towards the descending fireball before it had cleared even half the distance.</p><p>“My word.” Dumbledore breathed out, even as his wand was in his hand and pointing towards Harry to shield him from the flames if necessary. The near transparent wave of magic had passed through the fireball without even slowing down. The large mass of flames dispersing into nothing near instantly as the wave touched them.</p><p>“Success!” Harry laughed. He laughed even more when he saw the absolutely massive ball of water Penny had conjured in response to him throwing a huge fireball at himself. His girlfriend was always looking out for him and it brought a warm smile to his lips. With another swing of his sword he made the water vanish as well. “I’m fine, Penny, thank you though. I appreciate your concern.”</p><p>“Well someone has to be concerned for you.” Penny raised one of her eyebrows. “We obviously can’t trust you to be concerned for yourself.”</p><p>“That’s unfair and untrue.” Harry replied with a faux offended look on his face.</p><p>“Is it?” Penny arched her eyebrow fully.</p><p>“Sort of…” Harry barely restrained a smile.</p><p>“Why do I love you again?” Penny sighed with a warm look in her eyes.</p><p>“Because I challenge you intellectually, because I’m interesting, because I make you nice things, because I’m devilishly good-looking, I can keep going.” Harry laughed.</p><p>“Picking up some habits from Sirius, I see.” Penny could barely stifle her giggles at Harry’s silliness.</p><p>“I’m not that bad!” Harry cried in mock indignation. Penny burst into laughter at that and Harry chuckled along with her.</p><p>“Alright, alright, you wanted to test the sword’s ability as a Focus too, right?” Penny asked after her bout of laughter subsided.</p><p>“Yeah, I should be able to cast spells through it. How much of the swords’ power I use should be able to be controlled as well.” Harry mused as he looked his sword over. “Send me a wave of spells, even if they’re all the same, just send too many for me to have even a chance of blocking with the sword. I’ll try out Protego first.”</p><p>“Alright, a swarm of Stinging Hexes for Harry.” Penny sing-songed with a grin.</p><p>“Thanks…” Harry replied flatly as he walked back to a suitable distance for the test. “Go!” He gave the signal. From Penny’s hands came a burst of the small orange lights of the Stinging Hex. There were easily two dozen of the balls of light heading for him at a good speed. Harry focused, feeling the deep connection he had to his sword; he pointed the sword towards the incoming spells. A large, white Protego, far larger than anything Harry had ever cast before, appeared between him and the Stinging Hexes. The little orange lights were negated instantly upon touching the Shield Charm.</p><p>“Incredible!” Flitwick cheered at seeing the massive Protego. It was the largest he’d ever seen before! Easily dozens of meters in diameter! Harry could shield from almost any spell Flitwick could think of with a Charm that strong!</p><p>“Penny, stand in front of the others, please.” Harry requested. Penny looked confused but did as Harry asked.</p><p>Harry let his next spell flow through the sword as easily as he did with his wand. With a downward swing a thin line of pressurized water was released that cut cleanly through the dirt for several meters. Noting that it didn’t take nearly as much mana to perform that spell as it did when he used it Wandlessly, Harry smiled. It was further proof that his sword was an efficient Focus too. Harry pointed the blade straight up, right at the sky, and tapped into about half the swords’ power. The flames that came from the sword must have reached close to fifty meters into the air. It was like watching a fully grown Dragon breathe fire!</p><p>“Oh my Lord!” Hermione exclaimed in shock as seeing the potent effect of the sword.</p><p>“One last test!” Harry called out to everyone watching. “Full power this time!”</p><p>“That wasn’t full power?!” Padma cried out; her eyes wide and jaw almost on the ground.</p><p>The Artifact Sword sparked along the length of the blade as Harry channeled the Fulmen Curse through it. Tapping into the full power of his sword Harry let it empower the Curse. With a helm splitter swing straight down, Harry cast the Curse. Lightning cracked through the air in a massive arc of electricity that tore through the ground and sizzled through the air. The loud thunderclap that followed from the super-heated air was near deafening. The arc of lightning travelled in a straight line for almost one hundred meters before dissipating leaving behind a deeply gouged, trench through the ground that let off a few small sparks occasionally.</p><p>Hermione, Padma, and Mandy all collapsed in shock as they stared at what Harry had accomplished with a single spell and a swing of his sword. That was insane! Harry was only thirteen and he was already capable of creating Artifacts this powerful! What would he be like in a decade?! Luna was clapping wildly, apparently thrilled by the show. Penny just stared critically at what her boyfriend had just done. Her curious and inquisitive mind trying to extrapolate how much mana the sword provided and how much Harry provided to that Curse.</p><p>“Mr. Potter!” Dumbledore called out the teen Artificer as he looked over his sword.</p><p>“Yes Headmaster?” Harry looked towards the old man and Flitwick, both of whom were rushing towards him.</p><p>“I’m going to have to ask you to refrain from doing anything like that again on school grounds, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore told the Third Year student with a serious look on his face. “While it was very impressive, it was also highly dangerous.”</p><p>“Understandable, Headmaster, I’ll refrain from using the full power of my sword while on the grounds of Hogwarts.” Harry agreed. “Though I may need an exemption from that whenever we can arrange for a panel of Artificers to come and certify my sword as an Artifact. They’ll need to run their own tests and I’ve already locked the sword to my Bloodline. Only I and my direct descendants will be able to use this sword like I just did.”</p><p>“That is reassuring at least.” Dumbledore nodded. He’d seen the horrors that could be wrought by a Wizard with a powerful Focus before. If Harry’s sword could be wielded by anyone then he’d fear for the future should a Dark Wizard ever get their hands on it. Knowing that was and impossibility, even if they did possess the blade, cleared up the majority of Dumbledore’s concerns already.</p><p>“Simply incredible, Mr. Potter.” Flitwick congratulated his student. “Never in all my years have I seen such a remarkable Focus!”</p><p>“Thank you Professor.” Harry smiled at the short Charms Professor.</p><p>“Well, I’m sure we can arrange a time for a few distinguished guests to come visit Hogwarts and inspect your sword, Harry.” Dumbledore nodded with a grandfatherly smile.</p><p>“Thank you very much, Headmaster.” Harry gave a short bow to the old man. Dumbledore waved off his thanks with a chuckle.</p><p>Harry quickly walked back to Penny and his study buddies. He chuckles at the shocked forms of Hermione, Mandy, and Padma. Luna had congratulated him happily and he’d thanked her. Penny gave him a quick kiss of congratulations before she started asking for more details about his sword. Harry could only chuckle as he started to explain.</p><p>-Next Weekend-</p><p>It was Saturday, just past noon, and Harry was standing near the far edge of the Hogwarts grounds. This was as far from the castle as they could get to ensure safety. Standing with him was Dumbledore, as Headmaster, Flitwick, as his Head of House, as well as Penny. The small group watched as four people were guided to them by Hagrid. The large man had waved at Harry with a smile. Harry smiled back and noticed Hagrid was wearing the gloves and scarf he’d made for him in First Year. He noticed the obvious signs of wear and tear on the items and decided to make Hagrid a new set for Christmas.</p><p>Thanks to Dumbledore and Flitwick, the area they were standing in was free of December snow and pleasantly warm. The group of four, two Witches and Two Wizards, all smiled happily at the change in temperature when they crossed into the spelled area. With happy murmurs the visiting Artificers removed their heavier coats and cloaks. One face stood out to Harry; considering he’d been here to examine Harry’s Rune Safe it wasn’t surprising. Not to mention that Lorenzo was still the oldest looking man he’d ever seen. Flamel didn’t count since the man hadn’t aged a day in somewhere north of five hundred years.</p><p>“Good day, Ladies and Gentleman, on behalf of all of us here I’d like to welcome you to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.” Dumbledore welcomed their guests; all of whom gave their thanks at the kind welcome.</p><p>“We’re pleased to be here again, Dumbledore.” Lorenzo chuckled and the two old men shared a look of old friends meeting again. “Though I have to say, I didn’t expect Artificer Potter to have another potential Artifact so soon.”</p><p>“Do Artificers take breaks?” Harry questioned curiously and all four of the visitors chuckled.</p><p>“Most do between projects, Artificer Potter.” Lorenzo nodded. “Even the ones that try and create Artifacts back to back often take more than two years to make another potential Artifact. Ah, but where are my manners, I should let the others introduce themselves.”</p><p>“Happy to be here and not in my Office for a bit!” The first new person spoke up. He was slightly pale, and spoke with an accent. His hair was a dark brown and he had green eyes. “My name is Lucas Miller; I’m an Artificer that works for the Canadian Ministry of Magic. I’ve held the Title of Artificer for twenty four years and have two True Artifacts to my name.”</p><p>Greetings were made and then the next person stepped forward.</p><p>“Forgive me if my English is a bit rough, it’s my newest language.” The next member of the group spoke up. She was an older woman, not quite as old as McGonagall, but a bit older than Professor Sinistra if Harry had to guess. “I’m Lucia Nuñez, a freelance Artificer from Argentina. I’ve held the Title of Artificer for twenty years and have two True Artifacts to my name.”</p><p>Everyone introduced themselves to the newly named woman before the last person, another woman, stepped forward.</p><p>“Happy to be here.” The woman spoke with warm eyes and a kind smile. She was almost the epitome of ‘grandmother’ in her presence and demeanor. With white hair, some wrinkles, and brown eyes, she was easily the second oldest person of the group after Lorenzo. “My name is Anna Kowalczyk. I am an Artificer from Poland. I’ve held the Title of Artificer for sixty one years and have four True Artifacts to my name.”</p><p>Dumbledore also apparently new Anna as well since both greeted each other as old friends. With introductions out of the way the four visiting Artificers gathered around to examine Harry’s sword. Harry unsheathed the blade and held it out to them.</p><p>“Feel free to touch the blade, it can’t cut anything physical.” Harry spoke up and all four Artificers looked at him quizzically for a moment. Harry looked back at them for a few seconds before explaining. “It only cuts Magic, so physical objects can’t be cut.” With murmurs of curiosity all four Artificers looked the sword over.</p><p>“Is this sword ‘Blood Bound’ Artificer Potter?” Anna questioned a few moments later. “I can tell it is Magical, but I feel nothing when I pour my Magic into it.”</p><p>“Yes, Artificer Kowalczyk, it is bound to my Bloodline already.” Harry confirmed. “I’ll have to demonstrate its full capabilities myself.”</p><p>“Perfectly alright, Artificer Potter; wouldn’t be the first time I’ve seen that.” Lucas chuckled as he looked over the blade.</p><p>“You say this cuts Magic, but how do you mean?” Lucia asked curiously as she turned to face Harry.</p><p>“It might be easier to show you.” Harry replied as he took the sword back and conjured a fireball to hang in the air. Touching the blade to the fire snuffed it out instantly. “It’s like that.” All four Artificers nodded in understanding before they drew their own wands. Harry handed the sword back to them and watched on as they tried to bombard it with spells of all kinds. Not a single spell could even touch the sword without dispersing.</p><p>“Well, it most certainly does what you say.” Lorenzo looked flummoxed. “Spells can’t even touch it.”</p><p>“Just leaves the physical tests!” Lucas smiled as he picked up the sword. “Apologies in advance in case it breaks, Artificer Potter.” The Canadian Wizard bowed slightly. Harry nodded back, he was confident in his Artifact Sword.</p><p>“These rocks should do.” Lucas nodded to some large rocks and boulders off to the side. He hefted the sword up and brought it down on the rock closest to him with all his strength. There was the sharp clang of metal on stone and then Lucas was bringing the blade up to his eyes to inspect. “Well made, Artificer Potter!” He smiled. “Not a ding, crack, or even scratch on it!”</p><p>“Don’t be so gentle.” Lucia smiled as she waved her wand and levitated a larger boulder. “We must be thorough.” Lucas laid Harry’s sword on the rock he’d hit with it and backed away. Lucia dropped the boulder and the giant rock smashed the sword and the rock it laid on. A few moments to clear the large cracked pieces away and Lucia whistled. She pulled the sword from the rubble and showed the dusty blade still perfectly intact. “Very impressive, Artificer Potter, very impressive!”</p><p>“Thank you, Artificer Nuñez.” Harry smiled at the woman.</p><p>The four Artificers conversed for a bit over the tests and after a minute or so seemed to come to an agreement. The four approached and handed Harry the sword. Harry accepted it back and wiped off the dust with the edge of his robes. Penny gave him a look for the action but Harry just grinned.</p><p>“It is most definitely an Artifact, Artificer Potter.” Lorenzo smiled at the teen. “But until we see its full capabilities we cannot determine its Grade.”</p><p>“Allow me, and my lovely assistant, to demonstrate then.” Harry motioned to Penny, who rolled her eyes playfully at him, and the two began a similar demonstration to the one that Dumbledore, Flitwick and his study buddies had seen.</p><p>“This is full power.” Harry informed the Artificer Panel as he held the sword over his head. The blade began to spark with electricity as Harry channeled the Fulmen Curse through the sword. With a helm splitter swing the massive blast of lightning carved through the ground and shattered the largest boulder in the area. Only pebbles remained of the once massive rock. The Artificers all stared wide eyed at what a thirteen year old had done. Harry didn’t even look winded! Like he hadn’t even tried to put any extra power behind the spell! If that was almost entirely the sword then it far exceeded a Minor Grade, even a Median Grade wasn’t enough!</p><p>A few moments of hushed conversation followed the demonstration. The Artificers all seemed to come to an agreement and walked over with shock on their faces. Though they all appeared to be pleasantly shocked at the very least.</p><p>“Well, Artificer Potter, it seems we were right to expect great things from you! Your Artifact Sword is clearly far more than any Minor Grade Artifact.” Lorenzo congratulated the teen. “We’ve all reached the same thought,” Here the other three Artificers nodded to Lorenzo. “Your Artifact Sword is of Greater Grade. You’ve done what many Artificers spend their entire careers attempting! Quite the remarkable young man you are, eh?”</p><p>“Thank you, Master Trevisan.” Harry thanked the very old Artificer. He really just hadn’t processed that he’d skipped a Grade entirely yet. He was sure he’d freak out in short order once that fully processed.</p><p>“Do you have a name for your sword, Artificer Potter?” Lorenzo questioned the young man.</p><p>“Yeah, someone important to me helped come up with it.” Harry smiled at Penny who faintly blushed as she returned his gaze. “Aethereum.”</p><p>“Aether; the magical or higher sphere in Alchemy and many other Magical Practices. As a sword that can’t cut physical materials, only Magic, it does seem appropriate.” Anna remarked with a smile.</p><p>“Very well, I’ll have it logged for addition into the next reprinting of the Tome of Artifacts.” Lorenzo chuckled. “Congratulations on your second True Artifact, Artificer Potter, now I’m very curious as to what you’ll make next!” The old man laughed.</p><p>Harry thanked the four Artificers for their time. He figured this would be in the papers soon enough, probably after Christmas depending on the speed at which the story spread. But he’d just deal with it as it came.</p><p>Penny pulled him into a hug as the group walked back towards the castle together. Harry happily returned it and looked forward to the Yule Break and returning to Wood End Cottage. Which reminded him, he’d need to Mirror Call Sirius about this. Harry was sure his Godfather would be over the moon for him.</p><p>
  <strong>-End Chapter-</strong>
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  <strong>Well now, Greater Grade! Holy shit! Harry’s definitely going to start gaining some more notoriety over this accomplishment! What will he make next? He has plenty of projects to explore and things to create!</strong>
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  <strong>Aethereum, the Spell Cleaver, an Artifact Sword capable of dispersing Magic with its blade! In exchange for not being able to cut physical objects it can negate near any Magic it cuts or touches!</strong>
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  <strong>How’s that for an Artifact Sword?</strong>
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  <strong>Onto Christmas and the next projects! What are they?</strong>
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  <strong>Keep reading to find out!</strong>
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  <strong> <span class="u">Current Mana Levels</span> </strong>
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  <strong>Harry – 5,726</strong>
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  <strong>Tonks – 7,158</strong>
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  <strong>Penelope – 6,122</strong>
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  <strong>Fleur – 6,582</strong>
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  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
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<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Yule Break, Next Project</h2></a>
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    <p>
  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Yule Break! Spending time with Family! Will Tonks, Penny, and Fleur have another Christmas ‘Surprise’ for Harry? Also, what’s the next Big Project to work on?</strong>
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  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
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  <strong>Chapter 25 – Yule Break, Next Project</strong>
</p><p>Harry smiled as he and Penny rode the Hogwarts Express back to London. He had completed his Artifact Sword after two years of work. It was even a Greater Grade Artifact! At thirteen he’d done what many Artificers spent their careers attempting! He felt a bit of pride about that. Now he was headed back to Wood End Cottage for the break, Sirius was apparently pulling out all the stops for the celebrations this year. Both to celebrate Harry’s achievement and just because he was Sirius and he enjoyed the festivities!</p><p>“What are you smiling about, hmm?” Penny asked as they leaned against each other.</p><p>“Why wouldn’t I smile when I have such a beautiful, intelligent, loving woman cuddled up with me?” Harry grinned at the blonde.</p><p>“Did you learn that line from Sirius, per chance?” Penny giggled softly as they held each other.</p><p>“No, that’s how I really feel.” Harry hugged her closer and Penny kissed his cheek.</p><p>“Hmm, we do have the compartment to ourselves this time,” Penny teased. “Maybe we can give each other an early present?”</p><p>“Really now?” Harry looked at the Head Girl with a teasing glance. “What ever could you be considering?”</p><p>“Hush and kiss me.” Penny smiled, she pointed her finger at the door; the lock clicked into place and the blinds rolled down all the way.</p><p>“Love you, Penny.” Harry murmured to her before their lips met. Penny moaned lightly as they kissed.</p><p>“Love you too.” Penny smiled beautifully at him as she pulled back for a moment. Their lips met again and the two let themselves get lost in the feelings. Penny let Harry’s hands wander and explore her body; while her own hands ghosted through his hair or ran up and down his chest.</p><p>The two spent the rest of the train ride in each other’s embrace. Shortly before they arrived at the station the two separated and fixed themselves up. Penny pulled her bra back into place and re-buttoned her shirt. A quick Charm on her hair saw it looking far less frazzled than it had been a second ago.</p><p>Harry cast the same Charm on his hair, though with the ‘Potter Hair’ it wasn’t all that different. He fixed up his clothes, Penny’s hands had done their own wandering, and the two looked each other over to make sure they were presentable.</p><p>“We should spend all of the train rides like that.” Harry smiled and chuckled.</p><p>“We’ll see…” Penny teased as she kissed his cheek.</p><p>When the train stopped and students began to disembark, the couple unlocked the door to the compartment and headed out. They left the train and looked around the platform for a moment. Sirius was easy to spot, his Godfather had on a festive, pointed hat that looked like a Christmas tree. It was even lit up with multi-colored lights.</p><p>“Well at least he toned it down a bit this time…” Harry shook his head fondly. Penny giggled as she saw her father standing near Sirius. But also just far enough away to not be instantly associated with the Lord Black. Harry and Penny approached them with smiles and were pulled into hugs by their respective parent. Greetings were exchanged between Harry and Edward, while Penny and Sirius greeted each other as well.</p><p>“Are you keeping my Godson out of trouble Head Girl Clearwater?” Sirius chuckled while Harry stared at him deadpan.</p><p>“As much as possible, Sirius.” Penny smiled with a pretty laugh.</p><p>“I don’t get into trouble.” Harry tsked at his Godfather.</p><p>“Then Penny’s doing an excellent job!” Sirius chortled at his Godson’s expense.</p><p>“Ha ha…” Harry gave his most sarcastic of laughs. This got a chuckle from Edward and Penny was giggling. Plans were made for Penny to visit over the break and for some time on Christmas Day. The two pairs parted ways after that, Penny giving Harry a peck on the cheek before they left.</p><p>-Wood End Cottage-</p><p>Being back home at Wood End Cottage was nice. The warmth that existed here always brought a smile to Harry’s face. Harry happily accepted a snack from Tayla and enjoyed time with Sirius. The Cottage was decked out in tons of decorations. Garlands were strung up along the walls and wrapped around the staircase banister. There were wreathes on almost every door. The tree was already set up and twinkled with multiple lights.</p><p>Harry was looking at the various decorations around the living room when the fireplace flared green. From the Floo came Tonks. The Metamorph’s eyes lit up at seeing him and with barely a wave of her hand the soot disappeared from her person. Harry didn’t even have time to say ‘Hi’ before Tonks had him in a hug and almost tackled him onto the couch.</p><p>“Harrikins!” Tonks cheered as she snuggled her boyfriend. “I missed you!”</p><p>“I missed you too, Nym.” Harry smiled as he hugged her back. The two cuddled for a moment before Tonks pulled back. Then she flicked him in the forehead.</p><p>“Ow…” Harry rubbed his forehead. “What was that for?”</p><p>“Don’t nearly kill yourself making an Artifact!” Tonks glared at him with a pout. “We want you around for life, mister!” She pulled him back into her arms again.</p><p>“Sorry I worried you, Tonks.” Harry apologized as he hugged her close. The two held each other for a bit longer before pulling away.</p><p>“Can I see it?” Tonks asked with a smile.</p><p>“Hmm, I guess…” Harry adopted a ‘thinking pose’ as he teased her.</p><p>“Come on, Harrikins~ Show me, show me!” Tonks bounced on the couch like an excited child. Harry couldn’t help but chuckle at the bubbly young woman. With a grin he headed up to his room and retrieved the sword. Walking back downstairs Harry saw Sirius and Tonks chatting.</p><p>“I guess I’ll demonstrate a bit, if you two want?” Harry chuckled seeing both of them act like excited kids before they both raced for the back door. He followed at a slightly more sedate pace. His knowing smirk as he slowly approached the excited pair only made them insist he hurry up. “Alright, alright, back up a bit though. If you want to see full power at the end you don’t want to be too close.”</p><p>Sirius and Tonks took a couple steps backwards. Both still excited to see Harry’s Artifact Sword. Harry unsheathed the sword and let Tonks and Sirius look at it.</p><p>“It looks kinda plain, Harrikins.” Tonks commented as she looked over the hand and a half broadsword. It wasn’t ornate or overtly Magical to her eyes. Most Wizards and Witches went out of their way to make things obviously Magical.</p><p>“It doesn’t need to scream ‘Look at me! I’m super Magical!’ to be an Artifact, Nym.” Harry grinned at her.</p><p>“In other words, function over looks,” Sirius nodded. “Still pretty boring looking there, Harry.”</p><p>“Thanks…” Harry rolled his eyes at his chuckling Godfather. With a thought Harry had a fireball snap into existence. “Watch and be amazed.” He chuckled as he adopted a Showman’s voice. He touched the blade of Aethereum to the fireball, instantly the flames dispersed into nothing. With the first demonstration done Harry proceeded to create different spells. Every bit of magic the blade touched dispersed. Harry even demonstrated the dispersing wave of magic on a huge fireball again.</p><p>“Do the big one, Harry!” Tonks cheered. “Penny told me about it! I wanna see the lightning! Do it, do it!”</p><p>“Alright, one full power swing then we’re done.” Harry laughed at his excitable girlfriend. Her hair was a brighter pink than he’d ever seen it before as she watched his demonstration. Harry channeled the Fulmen Curse through Aethereum and the sword began to spark. With a swing towards the sky a bright bolt of lightning was released. Seeing the massive bolt both Sirius and Tonks felt their jaws drop.</p><p>“Harry, that was awesome!” Tonks exclaimed while laughing.</p><p>“Thank you, Nym.” Harry smiled at her while sheathing Aethereum.</p><p>“Godson of mine… I have a slight concern…” Sirius spoke up as he and Tonks approached Harry while the trio headed back inside.</p><p>“What’s that, Sirius?” Harry asked his Godfather.</p><p>“What’ll you do if someone with less than good intentions gets their hands on your sword?” Sirius inquired while looking at the sheathed weapon.</p><p>“It’s already bound to my Bloodline.” Harry informed Sirius, placating him. “No one but me, or one of my children, can use the sword as a Focus. The sheath can also protect from spells too, so it can’t be summoned away from me. Plus the little surprise I worked into the handle.” The teen Artificer chuckled as they entered the Cottage.</p><p>“Surprise?” Tonks asked as they closed the door and warmed up.</p><p>“There’s an Intent-based Ward on the handle, connected directly to Aethereum as part of the whole sword. Anyone that seeks to harm me, the Potter Family, or desires Aethereum for its power, can’t even touch the sword.” Harry explained his final safety feature. That was a bit of Arithmancy work to write out those specific conditions into the Ward. Harry felt the work had been worth it though, now no one that wished to harm him or his family could possess the sword. Even members of his future family that might desire Aethereum to use its power for themselves wouldn’t be able to hold the sword. It would hopefully be enough to keep it out of less than noble hands.</p><p>“That’s actually pretty good security, Harry.” Tonks smiled at him.</p><p>“Indeed,” Sirius nodded with a grin. “Just one last concern then,” Harry looked confused and Sirius placed his hand on his Godson’s shoulder. “Do you actually know how to <em>use</em> a sword?”</p><p>“Like formal lessons?” Harry shook his head.</p><p>“Then we’ll get you a teacher.” Sirius stated firmly. “Aethereum might not be able to cut anything physical; but it’s still a sword and should be treated as such. Even though it’s an amazing Focus, it’s not a wand and shouldn’t be waved around as such.”</p><p>“Hmm, I had considered trying to learn at least the basics of swordsmanship.” Harry mused as the trio sat in the living room together. “Alright then, let’s do it, I can dedicate some time this summer to learning.”</p><p>“Good,” Sirius smiled at him. “Besides, I highly doubt this will be the last Artifact Sword you’ll make.”</p><p>“True enough.” Harry smiled back.</p><p>“Why would you make another one?” Tonks tilted her head curiously.</p><p>“Because Magic Swords are cool.” Harry AND Sirius responded in unison while looking at Tonks with wide grins.</p><p>“Can’t really argue with you, I guess.” Tonks cracked up laughing.</p><p>Tonks stayed over for the evening. After dinner she’d followed Harry up to his room and proceeded to kiss him. Harry wasn’t complaining. The two ended up having a repeat of their ‘negotiation’ meeting on Harry’s bed. That night, Tonks slipped into Harry’s room again and slept next to her boyfriend. Both were in pajamas, of course, but they happily held each other close and snuggled together under the warm blankets. They both had good, restful sleep that night and awoke with smiles on their faces the next morning.</p><p>-Christmas-</p><p>Harry and Family had a wonderful Holiday. Gifts were exchanged and Fleur even came over for a few hours to exchange gifts. She also gave him an in-person repeat of the letter she’d sent him about harming himself in pursuit of Artifact Creation. Harry had accepted her reprimand, apologized for worrying her, and then accepted the warm hug she gave him. Before Fleur had to leave she was pulled aside by Tonks and Penny. The three girls disappeared for a bit and Harry, having a good idea of what was going on, left to go find the three.</p><p>‘If this is going to become a Holiday Tradition, I’m the luckiest bloke on Earth!’ Harry thought to himself as he approached his bedroom door. He knew for a fact that it hadn’t been closed earlier. Knocking on the door Harry announced himself.</p><p>“Come in, ‘Arry~” Fleur purred out and Harry felt a spark travel along his spine from her tone. Harry opened the door and quickly closed it behind him. Taking in the sight of his three girlfriends, all in skimpy Santa outfits; was amazing!</p><p>“Like what you see, Harry~?” Tonks asked breathily. She was almost popping out of the small top with the size she’d made her breasts. Her generous bum was also making the short skirt struggle to cover it at all. Her thighs and legs were fully on display, as was her midriff. All capped off with the Santa hat on her head.</p><p>“We hope so~” Penny teased with a purr of her own. She was clearly wearing the same outfit she’d worn the last time she and Tonks had ‘surprised’ him together. The lovely blonde had also not bothered to alter the outfits’ size with Magic. Her generous bosom was just barely held by the top. Her midriff was bare, showing of her trim waist and flat stomach. The skirt was the shortest thing he’d ever seen Penny wearing before; her thighs and legs shown off for him.</p><p>“It’s our gift to you~” Fleur finished laying on her accent a bit thicker than normal as she teased him. Her legs and thighs showcased by an equally short skirt. Her trim waist and wide hips exposed by the low skirt and small top; said top also barely able to contain her breasts. With a giggle at his travelling gaze over their forms, all three young ladies turned and let him see them from the back.</p><p>“Holy…” Harry breathed out as he took in the sight of three perfect bums presented to him. His breath hitched entirely when the tiny skirts were pulled up and green/red striped panties were revealed. Three giggles proceeded the gentle wiggling of the very nice bums and Harry was certain he was officially the luckiest teen in Magical Britain!</p><p>“Harry~” Tonks teased as the girls lowered their skirts and turned around.</p><p>“Yes…” Harry replied, still mesmerized.</p><p>“Surprise~” Penny giggled as all three tiny tops were relieved of their task of trying to contain the girls’ breasts. Harry’s eyes couldn’t stay still! Tonks’ had the largest tits he’d ever seen! Penny’s boobs were just as lovely as he remembered and she was even shaking them slightly! Fleur’s breasts where just as perfect as the rest of her as well as being natural D Cups! The teen was sure that he was in Heaven!</p><p>“Come here, mon amour~” Fleur beckoned him close with a come hither motion. Harry didn’t remember moving, but he and Fleur were quickly wrapped in each other’s arms and sharing their first kiss together. She guided him to the bed and the kissing became deep and heated. Their tongues met and Fleur happily showed him how the French kissed! Harry was steadily overwhelmed by his Veela girlfriend and ended up lying on his back with his hands on her bum while they made out.</p><p>“So naughty~” Tonks teased as Harry and Fleur continued to make out.</p><p>“Like you have room to talk.” Penny giggled at the Metamorph.</p><p>Fleur and Harry separated with a gasp and the Veela teen smiled lovingly down at her boyfriend. Harry was able to sit up before his lips were captured by Penny’s. The two shared a deep kiss for a bit. When they separated it was Tonks’ turn and she gently pulled Harry’s lips to hers. The two kissed gently at first before Tonks deepened it. A few moments later they separated for air.</p><p>Now Harry knew he was in Heaven!</p><p>“While your dazed look is very cute, Harry, we need you to head back downstairs so that we can change.” Tonks chuckled. Penny and Fleur matched her with giggles of their own as the three of them helped Harry to his feet.</p><p>“Right… Okay…” Harry’s grin wouldn’t fade for quite a while. He left his room still in a happy daze and headed for the kitchen to get a drink.</p><p>Fleur left shortly afterwards to spend the rest of Christmas with her family in France. Penny likewise needed to leave not long after to go to her family’s Christmas Dinner. The rest of the family; Sirius, Harry, Tonks, Andromeda, Ted, and Lupin had a wonderful dinner together. Tayla had really outdone herself and the House Elf had been praised so much Harry wasn’t sure she’d ever stop smiling. Lupin was corralled into staying the night by Sirius and Tonks pecked Harry’s lips before she left. Harry went to bed with a smile on his face.</p><p>-December 27<sup>th</sup>-</p><p>Harry was happily working in his smithy at Wood End Cottage. He was poring over a book about leatherworking to learn the skill. He wanted to turn the rolls upon rolls of processed hide into vests, coats, and cloaks for his family. If he could get Tonks’, Penny’s, and Fleur’s measurements, maybe three pairs of leather pants too… For reasons.</p><p>“Alright, so measure out the length, then the width, sleeves need to be measured by diameter…” Harry read over the tome as he performed the tasks listed. Bit by bit, the young Artificer made progress. Near the end of the day he smiled happily at his first piece. A Basilisk leather vest with cotton lining; it had very good spell resistance and it looked nice too! Harry wasn’t a tailor or anything, but a vest was fairly simple all things considered. Sewing was a skill of his that he’d tried not to let fade.</p><p>“I hope Hagrid liked his new Scarf and Gloves.” Harry smiled at the thought of the large man. He’d received a gift via owl from Hagrid again this year. Knowing his Enchanting would require materials, Hagrid had sent him a book about safely harvesting parts from Magical Creatures. The book was all about harvesting parts that the creature could grow back. It had a heavy focus on keeping said creatures alive throughout the process too.</p><p>Happy with his work, Harry took the vest and left the smithy. Walking through the cleared path in the backyard, Harry admired the snowfall. It was chilly, of course, but he very much enjoyed the view of Wood End Cottage in winter. Walking into the cottage Harry smiled when he heard a voice that had become a bit familiar over the last year. He headed into the living room and was happy to see Sirius and Marlie Reed chatting and enjoying tea. The two were rather serious at this point in their relationship. Harry was expecting for Sirius to eventually announce their engagement.</p><p>“What’s up Harry?” Sirius asked as he looked at his Godson with a smile.</p><p>“Finished the first Basilisk leather vest.” Harry explained as he held up the vest. “I figured you could model your last Christmas present for Marlie.”</p><p>“For me?” Sirius stood up and took the vest from Harry. “Thank you, Harry.” He smiled as he put the vest on. Buttoning up the three buttons he moved his arms a bit and found the vest to fit fairly well. “I guess the measurements were good then.” He chuckled as Harry had taken his measurements before Christmas Day.</p><p>“Looks like it.” Harry nodded to his Godfather.</p><p>“Now for the big test.” Sirius grinned and gave Harry a wink. “What do you think, Love?” He asked while turning to face Marlie. The ravenette woman with the warm grey eyes smiled at her lover.</p><p>“It looks rather dashing on you, Sirius.” Marlie grinned. “I rather like it.”</p><p>“Well that settles it,” Sirius clapped his hands together. “Made by my Godson, and approved by my darling, I’m sold!” He chuckled as he ran his hands over the vest. Marlie let out a warm laughter that made Sirius smile; and Harry grinned at his Godfather.</p><p>“It’s also very spell resistant too, so it’ll protect you if anything untoward should happen.” Harry informed him. “I hit it with everything from a Stinging Hex to a Severing Curse and none of them left a mark on it.”</p><p>“You don’t say?” Sirius looked the vest over with wide eyes.</p><p>“The buttons will take in mana if you apply it to them like you would a wand.” Harry showed Sirius. “The leather retains the Basilisk’s magic resistance, but it’ll fade away in time. Giving it mana from time to time will keep it from fading for quite a while longer. You could probably keep it for the rest of your life, but I kinda doubt it’ll still be working after that long; so it’s not something that can be passed down. Also, it’s only magic resistant, so it won’t stop physical objects like blades, rocks, or what have you. Only the Basilisk’s Scales are both magic resistant AND physically resistant.” He explained and Sirius pulled him into a hug.</p><p>“Thank you, Harry,” Sirius squeezed him tight for a moment. “I love it.”</p><p>“No problem Sirius, give me some time to practice more and I’ll have a long coat for you too.” Harry whispered back as he returned the hug.</p><p>“Take your time, Harry.” Sirius chuckled. “Make a vest for yourself first; I don’t want anything to happen to you.”</p><p>“Sure thing.” Harry grinned at his Godfather.</p><p>“This is so heartwarming.” Marlie cooed at the scene. “You’re an excellent parent, Sirius.” The smile Marlie gave him made Sirius’ heart thump in his chest.</p><p>“Well, I’ll just be in my smithy working, probably won’t be back inside for a few hours…” Harry announced as he walked out of the living room and towards the back door.</p><p>“Oi!” Sirius called after him. Harry burst into laughter as he closed the backdoor behind him. He hurried back to his smithy just in case Sirius and Marlie really DID decide to take advantage of his absence.</p><p>“Now, how do I craft armor?” Harry asked a few books he’d set aside while practicing his leatherworking. The four tomes were heavy, leather-bound books and should have most everything Harry needed to know about crafting armor within them. Some trial and error with iron should get him the basics down. Then it was only a matter of learning how to apply the Basilisk Scales to the creation process. He was certain his translated Creature Craft Journal had a section involving shields and armor.</p><p>“Basilisk Scale Mail sounds kinda cool.” Harry chuckled to himself. He wrote a quick note on a spare piece of parchment to get his own measurements as well as Tonks’, Penny’s, and Fleur’s so he could make each of them a Basilisk leather vest. Harry didn’t think anything was out to get him at the moment. But that Diary of Voldemort’s had proven the mad Wizard still had ways to cause trouble. Plus, he still remembered what Hagrid had said about the Dark Wizard.</p><p>
  <em>“Some say he died; codswallop in my opinion. Nope, I’m sure he’s still out there somewhere; too tired to carry on.”</em>
</p><p>“Better safe than sorry.” Harry nodded to himself as he picked up the first tome.</p><p>-Albania-</p><p>“Yes, you’ve actually done well, Flint.” Voldemort chuckled darkly at his only servant.</p><p>“Th-thank you, My Lord.” Stephen Flint trembled from his kneeling position.</p><p>“Re’em Blood, Dragon Blood, Salamander Blood, all three are finally in my possession.” Voldemort hissed as he held up the small bottles of each. “Strengthening Solution, Blood-Replenishing Potion, Everlasting Elixirs, and the Potion of All Potential… Yes, this will take some time, but soon enough I’ll be free of these Squibs. Free to slowly recover in a Homunculus body, and once I have that it will be merely a matter of time…” The Dark Wizard hissed out.</p><p>“U-um a-about that, M-My Lord.” Stephen trembled out. “I ha-haven’t yet been able to f-find any Thaumatagoria in any Apothecary.”</p><p>“Then why are you still here?” Voldemort turned his hate-filled red eyes on his terrified servant. “GET OUT AND FIND IT!” Stephen tripped and stumbled over himself in terror as he scrambled away from Voldemort. The tell-tale crack of Apparation followed not long after. “Worthless fool.” He hissed out. There was no time to deal with him yet. He had Potions and Elixirs to brew with what he did have. The base ingredient for the Homunculus body he would craft was the cremated ashes of seven Wizards. A dark smirk pulled at the lips of his current host body. Voldemort had plenty of experience with burning the corpses of those foolish enough to get in his way. Once the body was crafted he’d possess it and then the powerful Potions and Elixirs he would brew would come into play.</p><p>“Soon… I’ll be able to use a wand again.” Voldemort intoned. “I’ll need to be careful as I regain my lost Magic. While I’m still weakened like this I can’t yet call upon those who are beholden to me.” A hissing from nearby caught Voldemort’s attention. “Ah, Nagini, I trust you had a good hunt.” The large snake hissed back at him and Voldemort could only grin. “Yes, once he is no longer useful you may have him.”</p><p>A malicious chuckling filled the small, warded, stone cottage.</p><p>
  <strong>-End Chapter-</strong>
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  <strong>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-</strong>
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  <strong>A good Christmas! Gifts and <em>Gifts</em> abound! Harry is learning more, expanding his skills, and reaching new heights. Sirius’ relationship is getting very serious with Marlie Reed. Will a new Lady Black soon be made?</strong>
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  <strong>Sirius deserves to be happy and have children with the woman he loves, right? </strong>
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  <strong>Also, He-Who-Just-Won’t-Fucking-Die is plotting his machinations! Why does he need so many rare Potions Ingredients and hard to make Potions? Will his plans work out? What will they mean for Harry and his loved ones?</strong>
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  <strong>Keep reading to find out!</strong>
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  <strong> <span class="u">Current Mana Levels</span> </strong>
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  <strong>Harry – 5,964</strong>
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  <strong>Tonks – 7,486</strong>
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  <strong>Penelope – 6,418</strong>
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  <strong>Fleur – 6,872</strong>
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  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
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  </div></div>
<a name="section0026"><h2>26. Patronus, Animagus, Upgrades</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Back to Hogwarts and to continued study, practice, and advancement! What are Harry’s goals now? What’s the next Project? Maybe there’s a better or more efficient way to go about Artifact creation?</strong>
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  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
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  <strong>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-</strong>
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  <strong>Chapter 26 – Patronus, Animagus, Upgrades</strong>
</p><p>Harry groaned as he left Potions and headed out of the Dungeons. One would think that after more than two years of being a right prick, that Snape would give it a rest. Apparently the greasy, Potions Professor wouldn’t be doing that. Even producing flawless Potions only got Harry ‘Acceptable’ or on rare occasions an ‘Exceeds Expectations’ in the class. As it stood, Harry had no chance of proceeding to the N.E.W.T. Classes come Sixth Year. Though to be perfectly honest, Harry didn’t much care. Potions simply didn’t interest him as much as other Branches of Magic. Harry was beginning to wonder if staying for the full seven year course would be worth it.</p><p>“Ah, Harry, good to see you.” Remus smiled at the teen. It was time for another of their after-class practice sessions. “Are you ready to try the Patronus Charm again?”</p><p>“Yeah, I think I have a powerful happy memory now.” Harry nodded as the two headed into the empty Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.</p><p>“Well that’s a step in the right direction.” Remus encouraged his surrogate nephew with a smile. “Whenever you’re ready, Harry.”</p><p>“Right.” Harry pulled out his Holly and Phoenix Feather Wand and recalled the joy he felt when being with his girlfriends over the Yule Break. The love they held for each other. The affection they shared. The <em>gifts</em> he’d been given by them. Harry’s heart felt warm just recalling the memories they’d made together. With these memories at the forefront of his mind, Harry cast the Charm. “Expecto Patronum!”</p><p>From the tip of Harry’s wand a bright silvery-white form emerged. It twisted and twined through the air with a serpentine body. The length and size of the Patronus was impressive for a first time corporeal cast. The Guardian that Harry had conjured was easily five meters long. For a moment Remus thought Harry’s Patronus was a snake of some kind. Only when the Guardian stopped twisting and moving through the air did Remus and Harry get a good look at it.</p><p>“My word…” Remus breathed out as he looked at Harry’s Patronus. The silvery-white Guardian was no snake. It was an Eastern Dragon! A long sinuous body, four limbs with five toes bearing claws, two long whiskers came from its snout, it sported a pair of antler-like horns, and down its long back was a line of glowing white fur.</p><p>“I did it…” Harry breathed out happily as he saw his corporeal Patronus for the first time. “Isn’t it uncommon to have a Magical Creature as your Patronus?”</p><p>“Indeed, Harry, rather rare to be sure.” Remus confirmed with the teen.</p><p>“Now that I can cast it with my wand, I can work on mastering it wandlessly.” Harry smiled as he released the Charm and the Guardian faded into silvery mist before disappearing entirely.</p><p>“That may be far more difficult than even learning the Charm itself.” Remus mused and Harry shrugged.</p><p>“I don’t like to leave spells un-mastered.” Harry stated simply. “Also, have you given any thought to helping Sirius and I with the Animagus Transformation?”</p><p>“Why did Sirius put that idea in your head?” Remus sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose.</p><p>“Because it’s a very useful bit of Magic,” Harry reminded his surrogate uncle. “Also because he’s Sirius and he did it while in Hogwarts so he thinks I should too.”</p><p>“Right, of course,” Remus chuckled as he shook his head. “I’ll explain the process, Harry; but know that it is very advanced Magic that requires a long time to make work. If any step is skipped, missed, or forgotten, you’ll have to start over from the very beginning again.”</p><p>“Sirius said it took him and my dad almost three years to get it right.” Harry recalled and Remus confirmed that it did.</p><p>“The process is extremely difficult and can result in disaster.” Remus began the explanation. “There have been cases such as permanent half-human, half-animal mutations if the process is done incorrectly. To begin you have to keep a single mandrake leaf in your mouth for an entire month, from one full moon to the next full moon. So a full Lunar Month is required.”</p><p>“Even a Mandrake Leaf should dissolve from saliva in that amount of time, shouldn’t it?” Harry questioned curiously.</p><p>“Mandrake Leaves aren’t broken down so easily,” Remus shook his head. “They usually require physical processing to break them down for Potion-making.”</p><p>“Huh, we only went over their care in Herbology, so I guess Snape just decided not to teach us that.” Harry sighed at what a crap teacher Snape was to students that didn’t have a talent or excessive knowledge of Potions.</p><p>“Continuing on, if the leaf is removed or swallowed, the witch or wizard will have to start over again. During the next visible full moon, visible is very literal here so if the night happens to be cloudy, the one attempting the process will have to start over,” Harry’s eyes widened at having to rely on the weather to be a certain way for this process to work! “But if the weather is proper then the one attempting the process has to spit the leaf in a phial while under the moon's pure rays. To the moon-struck phial, the wizard or witch must add one of their own hairs, a silver teaspoon of dew that has not seen sunlight or been touched by human feet for seven full days, and the chrysalis of a Death's-head Hawk Moth. The mixture has to then be put in a quiet, dark place, and can’t be disturbed in any way.” Remus’ had to hold back a chuckle at Harry’s incredulous look.</p><p>“Why is this so obscure? Who came up with this specific method?” Harry felt like scratching his head in frustration. Trust Magic to be as weird and specific as it wants to be, while other times it was simple and straight forward.</p><p>“The next step that has to happen is for the one attempting to wait for an electrical storm, whenever that might be. During this waiting period the attempter will have to, at both sunrise and sunset without fail, chant the incantation ‘Amato Animo Animato Animagus’ with the tip of their wand placed over the heart. When next there is a lightning storm, the attempter will need to move immediately to a large and secure place, recite the incantation one final time, and then drink the potion.” Remus couldn’t stop the snicker that came as he saw Harry’s incredulous look.</p><p>“Are… Are you making that up?” Harry questioned as he looked at Remus for any signs he was being pranked. “That sounds like you’re making it up!”</p><p>“Unfortunately not, Harry,” Remus held up his hands. “That’s the only available method that is guaranteed to work. That is, unless you want to transfer to Uagadou down in Africa? They specialize in Self-Transfiguration, in fact a good number of their students are Animagus before they graduate.”</p><p>“Well, I have been pondering on if it would be worthwhile to attend Hogwarts for all seven years recently.” Harry admitted and Remus face-palmed at his words.</p><p>“You’re very advanced for your age, Harry, to be sure.” Remus agreed. “You can take your O.W.L.s and even N.E.W.T.s at the Ministry early; but if you fail you’ll have to stay at Hogwarts all seven years to be given a chance to attempt them again.”</p><p>“I’d just go for the Core Classes along with Runes and Arithmancy for O.W.L.s and then focus on Charms, DADA, Runes, Arithmancy, and maybe Transfiguration for N.E.W.T.s if I did that.” Harry shrugged. He knew he could easily pass any Practical Exam for O.W.L.s and possibly even N.E.W.T.s when it came to spell casting, or rune work.</p><p>“Let’s shelve that conversation for later then?” Remus suggested and Harry agreed. “Now, let’s see you cast the Patronus again!”</p><p>“Expecto Patronum!” Harry cast and his Guardian emerged from the tip of his wand again. This time Harry poured more of his mana into the spell. His Patronus reflected this by being eight meters long this time. The silvery-white Eastern Dragon flew through the air in large circular motions around the classroom.</p><p>“Very good, Harry, very good indeed.” Remus smiled at the progress. “As an interesting little side note to our Animagus discussion; the few Witches and Wizards that have been known as Animagus and capable of casting a corporeal Patronus as well, often have similar forms.”</p><p>“I assume there aren’t many examples of this, based on how difficult each one is to accomplish.” Harry inquired as he let his Patronus disperse.</p><p>“There are very few indeed,” Remus nodded to Harry. “Professor McGonagall is capable of both, however; and both her Animagus Form and her Patronus take the form of a cat.”</p><p>“Does that mean I’ll turn into a Dragon Animagus if I complete the process?” Harry questioned curiously. Being a Dragon Animagus would be pretty cool!</p><p>“We wouldn’t know until you transformed for the first time.” Remus informed him. “It’s debated as to whether or not an Animagus can be a Magical Creature; but most seem to think it should be possible, even though it’s never been seen before. Even powerful Witches and Wizards that have become Animagus often have mundane Forms. If history is accurate, even Morgana Le Fay was only a Bird Animagus.”</p><p>“Huh, that’s interesting.” Harry mumbled as he wondered if his Patronus would be the same as his Animagus Form. Professor McGonagall might be a good basis to go off of for now. ‘It would be cool to be a Dragon!’ Harry thought to himself with a grin.</p><p>-The Weekend ~ Saturday-</p><p>“Alright, I got some experience forming armor over the Yule Break,” Harry mused as he looked over his stores of materials and his tools in his hidden workshop. “I got some more experience with Creature Craft too.” He remembered making a few more Basilisk Hide Vests for himself, Tonks, Penny, and Fleur. He also <strong>vividly</strong> remembered the <em>thanks</em> he’d gotten from his girlfriends for the gift. A dopey grin made its way onto his face without restraint. Tonks had been very thankful after all! She now wore her Vest under her Auror Robes as added protection. The bubbly Metamorph had jokingly complained about the dull color though. The Hide was too Magic Resistant for any type of Color-Changing Charm to affect it though, so she was stuck with the dull black-green color.</p><p>“There has to be a better way, a more efficient way to craft an Artifact without almost killing myself though.” Harry thought aloud as he looked at his materials and tools again. “Creature Craft with ‘conquered’ materials comes out easier; so maybe that is what I should look into?” Thinking on it some more the teen Artificer paced back and forth as he went over ideas. It wasn’t like he had to one up himself with every Artifact he made. In fact, he’d skipped a Grade with Aethereum; so maybe a Median Grade Artifact should be his next goal? That still left the problem of crafting an Artifact without bringing himself to the brink of death like last time.</p><p>His materials were fine. He could transmute his base materials into Alchemic Magical Metals with consistent success now days. He was slowly increasing his skill with Alchemy as well. But if he ever wanted to transmute his own Orichalcum or Adamantite then he needed to be at least proficient in that Branch of Magic. Maybe his tools needed an upgrade?</p><p>Looking over his blacksmithing tools he examined them. They were made of steel and were sturdy. Nothing was special or Magical about them. They were just good workman’s tools. Maybe he could change that though? Could he magically strengthen his current tools? Or, could he create his own tools with magical properties that would enhance his crafting?</p><p>“Well, only one way to find out!” Harry grinned to himself as he pulled out a few Rune Books and his Creature Craft Journal.</p><p>Over the next few hours Harry used his Rune Etching kit to apply a minor Runic Array to his various hammers and tools. He’d even gone to the trouble of applying a ‘Static’ Runic Array to his anvil. Now all he had to do was take the next step in his Alchemy attempts.</p><p>A Compound Transmutation.</p><p>Taking two or more Alchemic Metals and transmuting them together into a new Magical Metal! Harry had never done it before, and he’d have to draw the Transmutation Circle himself. The pre-prepared Transmutation Circle plates that had come with his Alchemy kit weren’t complex enough for this type of Transmutation. Looking through the most advanced Alchemy book he had in his workshop, Harry noted the various formulas that he’d need to draw into his Transmutation Circle. Alchemy was quite the strict Branch of Magic. Harry had failed enough times to know that. But he’d keep trying as many times as necessary to get it right. Hard work and practice were the name of the game and Harry had been playing for years now!</p><p>-Sunday Morning ~ Hidden Workshop-</p><p>“Alright the inner circle is complete… Now the outer circle is a hexagon base…” Harry was muttering to himself as he checked his advanced Alchemy book and his own notes to make sure he was drawing the Transmutation Circle properly.</p><p>“So what are you trying to make with this?” Penny asked as she looked over what Harry was drawing onto the stone floor. The Transmutation Circle wasn’t overly large, maybe a meter in diameter, the lines on it were perfectly straight and Harry had used a taunt string to make the perfect circle in the center. Now her boyfriend was making a perfect hexagon with a meter stick around the perfect circle.</p><p>“Zeclatite…” Harry answered without taking his eyes off his drawing.</p><p>“And that is…?” Penny asked leadingly a moment later.</p><p>“A Magical Metal that has a high Magic conductivity and transference as well as a very high heat resistance. It’s also very durable to blunt force, more so than most Non-Magical metals.” Harry smiled at her as he finished the hexagon. “I’m planning to use it as the basis for the Runes I’ve etched into my tools.”</p><p>“If it has high heat resistance, then how are you going to melt it to fill in the Runes?” Penny questioned as Harry set up the string and pole he was using to draw perfect circles.</p><p>“With Magic, of course!” Harry grinned at her before he made sure the string was the proper length and then made it taunt. He used the string to draw another perfect circle around the hexagon and then removed the pole and string. “There we go. I should be able to use this a few times before I’ll need to re-draw it.”</p><p>“You don’t think it’ll work the first time?” Penny teased her boyfriend.</p><p>“I’ve never done a Compound Transmutation before; so I’m half expecting to fail.” Harry admitted with a shrug. Penny kissed his cheek.</p><p>“For luck.” Penny smiled at him. Harry hugged her before she stepped back and he went to get his materials. He gathered ingots of Oulm and Sylvuan and weighed them each one by one. If he wanted this Compound Transmutation to have any chance of working then his materials had to be the proper amount by weight. When he had the ingots weighed he then turned to the ingots he’d added to his collection. Though to be honest all he’d done was let Vitris Auri cool and solidify. The golden ingots were all weighed separately and Harry noted their weights.</p><p>“Alright then, so these three Sylvuan ingots, these two Vitris Auri ingots, and this one Oulm ingot.” Harry spoke as he gathered up the proper ingots and then carefully, so he didn’t mess up his Transmutation Circle, placed them inside the perfect circle in the center. Stepping back just as carefully, Harry gave a bright smile to Penny as he kneeled down and placed his hands flat on the floor. With only the tips of his middle digits making actual contact with the Transmutation Circle, Harry poured his mana into the Array.</p><p>The array slowly lit up in a bright blue light. Small sparks jumped from the Circle to the three metals. All three of the Magical Metals began to glow with their own Magic in response. The Sylvuan glowed a white color, Oulm an orange color, and Vitris Auri a yellow color as the Transmutation began. The ingots began to fuse together into one as Harry fed more of his mana into the Circle. Once all three glowing ingots fused together the glow became brighter as the three colors blended together in a tri-colored rainbow. Then the three colors merged together and a new color emerged. The resulting color was a slate-gray as the new metal formed in the magic sparks of the Transmutation Circle. Harry felt some kickback from the Circle and stopped pouring his mana into it. The blue glow faded away and the lines returned to their previous chalk white. The slate-gray glow persisted for a bit before fading to reveal the new material.</p><p>“Did it work?” Penny asked as she looked at the fairly large ingot that had been formed from the six previous ingots.</p><p>“I’ll have to check.” Harry replied as he carefully removed his creation. He still didn’t want to mess up the Circle incase he’d failed and he needed to use it again. Looking over the new metal he didn’t see any lines or striations that would have formed from a failed Transmutation. That was a good sign already. As he examined the ingot for any malformations or discoloration his hope began to grow. Taking a small hammer, Harry held the ingot in his left hand and then lightly struck it. The sound was clear, a good solid sound; that meant the metal was uniform. He tapped it a few more times in various spots; listening for any differences in tone. Placing the hammer down on his work table Harry fed some mana into the ingot.</p><p>“It glows?” Penny tilted her head as the ingot glowed with the slate-gray color again.</p><p>“It glows.” Harry nodded with a large smile breaking out across his face. “It worked! It’s Zeclatite!” He cheered at his success! He was fairly certain his first Compound Transmutation was going to fail! “Now I just have to get it hot enough to melt and use it for the Rune Base!”</p><p>“So how are you going to do that, exactly?” Penny asked and when Harry smiled at her she cut him off. “Don’t say Magic.”</p><p>“Fine.” Harry pouted as his girlfriend stopped his gag. “Remember how I said Zeclatite had high Magical conductivity and transference?” Penny nodded to him. “Well I’m going to basically cast a Fire Spell <em>into</em> the Zeclatite until I hit its melting point. Once it’s that hot it’ll take a bit for it to cool down, if I had a lovely assistant to help me with keeping it hot, I’ll be able to fill in the Runic Arrays and upgrade my tools.” He smiled at her and Penny shook her head with a giggle.</p><p>“Of course I’ll help.” Penny agreed easily. “Better that than you trying to do it all yourself.”</p><p>“Indeed!” Harry nodded sagely. A ball of mana popped against his head and he chuckled. The two set up a vessel for the molten Zeclatite to fill and set the ingot inside it.</p><p>“Okay, here I go.” Penny held out her hand towards the Zeclatite and focused. She was using her mana to cast a fire ball. She’d done it plenty of times before. The only difference this time was where she was forming and gathering the heat. The blonde narrowed her brown eyes as she focused more of her mana into her spell. She needed more power, more heat, and she needed to maintain that heat for long enough that Harry could fill the Runic Arrays of his tools.</p><p>“There we go. You’re doing great Penny!” Harry encouraged his girlfriend with a bright grin. The Zeclatite was slowly turning red, after a minute it was a bright orange, Penny and Harry began to sweat as the temperature of the Magical Metal continued to rise. Finally the metal softened and deformed. The ingot began to lose shape and became a pool of molten metal in the vessel. Harry beamed at Penny for her assistance as he filled his Alchemic Pen with the molten Zeclatite.</p><p>“Take your time, no rush.” Penny joked as she focused on keeping the metal molten hot. Harry chuckled as he carefully filled in the arrays on his tools one by one. He had to refill his Pen fourteen times to get all of the tools finished, including his anvil.</p><p>“Done! You can stop Penny!” Harry informed his girlfriend as he emptied the last of the molten Zeclatite from his Alchemic Pen back into the vessel with the remainder. He’d used most of his ingot for this. He doubted there was enough Zeclatite left in the bottom of the vessel to make anything more than a paper weight. He’d still keep it; of course, he’d gone through the trouble of making it!</p><p>“Woo~” Penny panted as she ended her spell. “I’m sweating. That took way more mana than I thought it would.” She wiped her forehead of the droplets that were there.</p><p>“You were great, Love.” Harry hugged her and Penny smiled happily as she returned the hug.</p><p>“I’m all sweaty though…” Penny mumbled into his ear.</p><p>“So am I, its fine.” Harry assured her as he gave her a squeeze.</p><p>“We could both use a shower.” Penny commented as they let go of each other.</p><p>“Feel free to use the one in the smithy.” Harry offered with a smile. “I can do basic Cleaning Charms so I’ll have your clothes clean by the time you’re done.”</p><p>“I’ll take you up on that, boyfriend of mine.” Penny kissed his cheek.</p><p>“I could help wash your back if you wanted too.” Harry grinned and Penny giggled at him.</p><p>“Sorry, Harry, you’re not getting that far just yet~” Penny shook her head. “Maybe next year~” She kissed his lips and the two enjoyed a soft lip lock for several moments.</p><p>“But you won’t be here next year…” Harry reminded her with a raised eyebrow.</p><p>“Oh, you’re right… Hmm, I guess that’s too bad~” Penny chuckled as she sauntered towards the full bathroom. Harry internally cursed the Hogwarts Robes for covering so much of Penny’s form right now!</p><p>“That’s just evil…” Harry trailed off as Penny dropped her robe and then unbuttoned her shirt. The Head Girl placed the shirt in a chair near the bathroom door and then undid her skirt. Harry drank in the sight of Penny in nothing but her bra and panties as she removed her shoes and socks. She turned to face him and removed her bra with a lusty look in her eyes. Harry’s gaze quickly focused on Penny’s bountiful chest. His brown-eyed girlfriend was only slightly smaller than Fleur in the breast department. Harry enjoyed the sight of Penny’s bare breasts <strong>very much</strong> indeed! With a teasing sway of her body she disappeared into the bathroom and closed the door. A second later the door opened a crack and Penny’s arm emerged to add her panties to the pile of clothes to be cleaned.</p><p>“Thank you, Love~” Penny called out to him with a purr before the door closed entirely.</p><p>“Maybe I should offer to do the girls’ laundry during the summer every now and then?” Harry pondered with a grin. If that was the kind of payment he’d get he could accept some menial chores! Harry set about cleaning Penny’s sweaty clothes with spells. When he’d finished cleaning them he folded them up and set them in a neat pile on the chair that he moved directly in front of the door. As a little teasing of his own, Harry had made sure to set Penny’s bra and panties on top of her other clothes. Just to remind her that he’d seen them up close for an extended period of time. He had to get his own teasing in when he could, otherwise the girls’ might think they had free run; and Harry couldn’t let that happen, it wouldn’t be nearly as fun!</p><p>“Now I need to focus on something else to deal with this.” Harry looked down at his waist. If it wasn’t for the Hogwarts Robe his reaction to Penny’s little show would be very visible! “I guess I’ll just start drawing up the next plans.”</p><p>Harry went over to his work table and pulled over a fresh sheet of parchment. With a grin he drew up the shape of his tools on it. Then he started noting down what he’d make them out of. He had plenty of Magical Iron, the Dwarves were mining plenty from the old mine, then making it Magical as they processed it for use. He also had a plethora of Basilisk Bones. Slytherin’s Basilisk had been huge and Harry wasn’t one to waste such a large cache of materials.</p><p>“Using my newly ‘upgraded’ Magic Tools, I’ll forge myself a set of Tools from Basilisk Carbon Steel! With Magical Materials forged into Tools and then applied with my Runic Arrays on top of that, there’s no telling how much this could improve my forging!” Harry couldn’t stop the giddy chuckling he was letting out as he drew up his plans. As long as he didn’t use the Basilisk’s Fangs for material they shouldn’t impart the lethality of the beast’s venom into his Tools. It would be rather dumb to have a common blacksmith tool that poisoned a person with lethal venom with but a touch after all….</p><p>
  <strong>-End Chapter-</strong>
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</p><p>
  <strong>Progress on the Spell Work! Talks of Animagus Transformation! Alchemy is making steady progress! Harry is contemplating his future! Penny’s corruption via Tonks is complete! Her love for Harry makes her more than happy to tease and show off for him! Harry’s Tools got an Upgrade! Now he plans to use that Upgrade to forge even better Tools! Upgrade just to access better upgrades!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>What will Harry make next?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Keep reading to find out!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong> <span class="u">Current Mana Levels</span> </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Harry – 6,148</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Tonks – 7,694</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Penelope – 6,622</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Fleur – 7,006</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0027"><h2>27. New Tools, New Items, New Project</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! New tools created! How many, and what effects to they give over basic blacksmithing tools? Some more progress on other Items? Has Harry decided on a new Project?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>I think I already announced this, but just in case, this Story has a TvTropes Page! Thank TheSinful, who you can check out here or on FFNet, for his hard work!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Chapter 27 – New Tools, New Items, New Project</strong>
</p><p>Harry hummed happily to himself as he looked over all of his new blacksmithing tools. He'd completed three sets of new tools over the last two weeks with Penny's help. He'd made more Zeclatite, and failed twice because Alchemy was a super-fickle Branch of Magic, before he'd finished. Aside from the two ingots of failed Zeclatite, which he'd stored away for future attempts at 'Breakdown and Separation' Alchemy, Harry had succeeded in his plans to forge new tools!</p><p>The first set was his old steel tools, newly enhanced with his Runic Array and Zeclatite. Harry was certain he'd have a much easier time transferring his mana into his creations with them now. Each strike of the hammer would impart more mana, more efficiently into his forged creations. It should at least help prevent Magical Exhaustion to an extent. Not to mention that the more of his mana he imbued into his forging the better his materials responded. His mana carried his Intent after all. With it flowing more efficiently it should help shape his creations the way he wanted them to be.</p><p>The second set was pure Basilisk Carbon Steel. Forged into a copy of every type of tool his original set had come with. Multiple types of hammers, tongs, pliers, and chisels all made of the inherently Magical Metal. With this set Harry had forgone applying his Zeclatite-infused Runic Array. He wanted to know just what these Magical Base Material tools could do all by themselves. He hypothesized that they'd provide much better results to his forging than his standard tools since he'd not only made them by his own hand, but made them from a 'conquered' material in the Basilisk's bones. His Will and Intent were literally part of these Tools and by his own experience with Magic; that should allow for far greater results than standard Non-Magical Tools.</p><p>The third and final set incorporated both methods of creation. Harry had forged a second set of Basilisk Carbon Steel tools; then he'd applied his Runic Array and infused it with Zeclatite. This set of tools was not only forged by his hand from 'conquered' materials, but also etched with a Runic Array that was then infused with a Magical Metal that he'd transmuted himself! Aside from him adding his own lifeblood to them, this particular set of tools might as well be a physical extension of his Intent and Will! Harry was looking forward to testing all of them out!</p><p>"Hmm, now let's see, what was I the closest to completing?" Harry wondered as he pulled open his notes and looked over his current projects. "Right, I still need to figure out the Control Sequence for the Mana Bane chains, the flight Item still can't control altitude, but… The Spell Ward Array works and with the leftover Zeclatite I should be able to complete the next prototype." With a smile Harry set to work. Pulling out a pair of forearm guards he'd forged from Magical Iron, he set about etching the Spell Ward Array into the first one. With luck, once he infused the Array with Zeclatite as the base, he'd have an Item that could block even fairly powerful Hexes, Jinxes, and Curses. Anything incredibly powerful would probably burn them out, even with Zeclatite-imbued Runes, but if they could block a good number of moderate spells before failing, that would be another step in the right direction!</p><p>"Every success builds upon the next, I just have to keep learning and trying." Harry chuckled to himself as he etched the next rune in the sequence.</p><p>-First week of February-</p><p>"You want <em>what</em> exactly?" Penny looked at her boyfriend perplexed.</p><p>"Dragon Bones, more specifically the wing bones." Harry repeated his request.</p><p>"Why do you need just the wing bones? What's wrong with the rest of them?" Penny inquired with a tilt of her head.</p><p>"I think I know why my Flight Item hasn't been working," Harry smiled at his girlfriend. "I need not only a better material than just Magical Iron, but I need it to be crafted from something that has the capability of flight."</p><p>"So you chose Dragon wing bones?" Penny felt a small smile form on her lips.</p><p>"Exactly!" Harry grinned at her. "Think about it; Dragons are WAY too big to fly with just their wings! So a part of their innate Magic must go to their ability to fly! If I forge Dragon wing bones into Magical Iron, I can make a Magical Carbon Steel that should possess some innate aptitude for Runic Arrays involving flight." The teen Artificer smiled brightly, his eyes lit up with his passion for Crafting and Enchanting. Penny really loved seeing Harry so fired up like this. His work ethic was one of the many things that had attracted her to him in the first place!</p><p>"So how are you planning to get them and know for a fact that they're all wing bones?" Penny curiously asked. Harry took on a 'thinking' pose as he mulled over ideas in his head for a bit.</p><p>"I'd need to go to a Dragon Reserve, collect the bones I want as they're rendering a Dragon down for parts and materials." Harry nodded to himself before looking at Penny. "I might have to head back home for the Easter Break this year. I'm sure Sirius wouldn't mind spending a day going on a trip with me to a Dragon Reserve."</p><p>"No, I don't suppose he would," Penny chuckled. "With the way he spoils you, it's amazing you haven't become an entitled little prat~."</p><p>"Oi!" Harry flicked a mana ball at his Head Girl girlfriend. Penny only giggled as she swatted it away. "I'm not spoiled!"</p><p>"I'm just teasing you, Harry~" Penny covered her mouth to suppress her continued giggles. "But he DID spend a decent amount of the Black Family Fortune to buy the land the Iron Mine sits on, just so you and the Dwarves could go into business together."</p><p>"Sirius gets a cut of the sales too…" Harry looked away, refusing to admit that he <em>might</em> have been a little spoiled by his doting Godfather. Penny continued to grin while Harry ignored the small snickers that escaped her every now and then.</p><p>"So, how're the other projects coming along?" Penny asked a few minutes later. Harry's mood brightened as he went over to where he kept a few of his prototypes in the hidden workshop. Penny watched on as Harry strapped on a pair of metal forearm guards and then turned to face her.</p><p>"Hit me with a spell!" Harry challenged her with a smirk.</p><p>"Why?" Penny raised one eyebrow in response.</p><p>"So I can show you how these work, of course." Harry playfully rolled his eyes at her.</p><p>"What kind of spell?" Penny questioned as she raised her hand.</p><p>"Whatever you like, it won't make a difference!" Harry smiled deviously at the blonde. He knew how to get Penny's competitive side to make an appearance!</p><p>"Oh really?" Penny had a smirk of her own now. A sparking orange spell appeared in her raised hand. "Well, since you asked for it…" With that Penny launched the crackling orange ball at Harry. She blinked in shock when Harry batted the spell aside and into the stone wall.</p><p>"Was that all?" Harry asked cheekily and Penny blinked at what her boyfriend had just done.</p><p>"How? You didn't even use a spell!" Penny was confused, to say the least. "I didn't see any Magic use at all, in fact… What are those?"</p><p>"Remember how I was working on the Spell Ward Array?" Harry asked innocently. "Well, after I made it work for Aethereum's scabbard, I was able to apply it to Magical Iron with only a few changes to the overall Array. These are the first successful prototypes, 'Spell Ward Guards' as I've taken to calling them."</p><p>"So spells just bounce off them?" Penny blinked as she walked over to look at the prototype closer.</p><p>"Not so much 'bounce off' as they simply stop spells from activating their effects." Harry explained as Penny looked over the guards. "A spell imparts its effects upon contact with a target, right?" Penny nodded in agreement. "What the Spell Ward Array does, is keeping the flying spell from activating and lets me redirect it elsewhere, like I did with yours."</p><p>"Hence the 'Ward' part of the name." Penny realized as she smiled at Harry.</p><p>"Yep, it 'wards off' spells, rather than blocking them or destroying them." Harry grinned happily at his prototypes. "I was going to try and use this Array on a small Charm like a bracelet or locket, but it's has diminishing returns based on the size of the item. The smaller the Item the weaker the effect; unfortunately, if my Arithmancy and Rune Theory is correct, too large of an Item will also spread the 'Spell Ward' too thin to be of any real use. It's quite the conundrum, but it's a non-static Array, so that might be the issue in and of itself."</p><p>"They're still impressive, Harry." Penny assured him as she looked the guards over a bit more. "Are you going to market these to the Aurors as well?"</p><p>"Probably not," Harry shook his head. Seeing Penny's confusion he explained. "The Auror Batons are good for enforcing the Law without pulling wands right off the bat. It's good for the Aurors to have an option that isn't capable of lethal force. Tonks has told me that the Auror Corps reputation has been on the rise since they made the Batons standard issue. But, if a Baton or two fell into the wrong hands, it wouldn't be good, but it also wouldn't be the worst thing that could happen."</p><p>"I think I get where you're going with this," Penny looked contemplative. "The 'Spell Ward' would make anyone wearing them impervious to most spells so long as they're facing them head-on. If they fell into the wrong hands then even the Aurors might not be able to deal with the Wizard or Witch that has them."</p><p>"Exactly," Harry nodded with a small smile. "Letting these get out into the open market would probably make Potter &amp; Erdunn Creations a fortune, but the risk of them being misused is so high that no amount of money is worth the potential problems they could bring."</p><p>"I agree, just the thought of some Dark Wizard or Witch being impervious to most spells is already making my stomach turn." Penny shook her head to rid her mind of the image. "If they work though, why are you still calling them prototypes?"</p><p>"Because I want them to be gauntlets when they're done." Harry grinned at her. "But articulated metal is hard to do. I'm still practicing it with regular iron right now; progress is kind of slow going."</p><p>"I'm sure you'll learn it and master it eventually, Harry." Penny leaned in and pecked his lips. "You always do." Harry smiled warmly at her as he took off the 'Spell Ward Guards' and placed them back on the shelf he got them from.</p><p>"Thank you, Penny." Harry hugged his girlfriend gently. Penny smiled as she returned the hug and even placed a kiss on top of Harry's head.</p><p>"What happened with your 'Mana Bane' idea?" Penny asked curiously as they pulled away. "I haven't heard you talk about it in a bit."</p><p>"That's mostly worked out." Harry answered as he moved over to the worktable and pulled open the locked and sealed bottom drawer. From the drawer, Harry pulled out a length of chain. It was coiled up, so Penny couldn't guess at the exact length. It looked like a simple length of chain to her. "The Control Sequence works now, but I'd like to make it better when I can. The movements are still kind of stiff." To demonstrate Harry held one end of the length of chain; the rest fell to the floor for a moment before seeming to float when Harry focused.</p><p>"It floats…" Penny trailed off as she looked at the curiosity.</p><p>"Yeah, it floats when you know how to activate it." Harry chuckled before, with a flick of his wrist, the end of the chain he wasn't holding shot towards her. Penny yelped as the chain encircled her and then tightened its hold.</p><p>"Harry!" Penny yelped at him. The Artificer just chuckled as Penny tried to use her Magic and found she couldn't. "Hey, let me go, Mister!"</p><p>"As you can see," Harry continued as if she hadn't said anything. "Once it wraps around you, you can't use your Magic to form spells. The speed is decent, but the current 'Control Sequence' can only do simple maneuvers. I can't make it wind around multiple targets, for instance, nor could I make it take on a certain shape and hold it. So at the moment, the chains are best used for quick captures and restraint."</p><p>"I get it…" Penny deadpanned, which made Harry chuckle. "Now let me go before I start removing boyfriend privileges." The 'Mana Bane' chain dropped off of her and returned to Harry. The teen Artificer wound the chain back up with a grin. Penny could at least estimate the length to be somewhere around four or five meters now. From what she knew each link in the chain had to be etched with the continuous Runic Sequence from end to end for the Item to work. No wonder Harry had taken so long to make a viable prototype, the work to make one 'Mana Bane' chain probably took days even for a length like the prototype.</p><p>"Now I just need to choose something else to work on while I wait for Easter break." Harry mused as he looked around his workshop.</p><p>"You know that's not until April, right?" Penny playfully reminded him.</p><p>"Yeah, it's going to be in the back of my head though." Harry shrugged. "I do have something important coming up far sooner though."</p><p>"What's that, boyfriend of mine?" Penny grinned since she had a fairly good idea.</p><p>"I have to make sure my girlfriends have a wonderful Valentine's Day of course." Harry confirmed her thought with a smile. "That means spoiling Tonks and Fleur with gifts, and taking you to Hogsmeade for a date!"</p><p>"I think I can agree to that~" Penny giggled and Harry chuckled along with her.</p><p>"Chocolates and flowers for sure," Harry tapped his chin in thought. "I should also make them both something they'd like…"</p><p>"Oh? Should I also expect a handmade gift?" Penny asked with a warm smile.</p><p>"Am I an Artificer or not?" Harry questioned; his hand over his chest and a smile on his lips.</p><p>"Of course, how could I ever forget?" Penny held her cheek as she pretended to swoon.</p><p>"I've got a nice idea already forming in my head," Harry admitted smiling. "I think you'll all like them."</p><p>"Oh, now you've got me curious…" Penny chuckled at him. "Mind giving me a hint?"</p><p>"Nope!" Harry shook his head. "It'll be a surprise for all three of you."</p><p>"Are you sure?" Penny cocked an eyebrow as she leaned closer. "I'm sure I could convince you~" Her eyes were half-lidded as she leaned in. Harry smiled as he met her halfway and the two shared a kiss. Penny pressed herself against him and Harry's hands found their way to her waist. The couple enjoyed the kiss for a moment before they separated. "So… About the Valentine's gift~"</p><p>"You'll have to wait until the day~" Harry teased back as he took a step back and separated from her. "It's almost time for dinner anyway!" With that Harry rushed to the workshop door and left with a laugh!</p><p>"Harry~!" Penny called after him with a pout. "Hmm, I <em>guess</em> he won this round…" The fire in the Head Girl's eyes easily told any who would have seen them that the war was FAR from over! She followed after Harry at a more sedate pace. They met up at the staircase and entwined their hands as they made the walk down to the Great Hall together.</p><p>-Valentine's Day-</p><p>"Harry, it's beautiful~" Penny smiled beautifully at her boyfriend as she looked at what he'd made her. It was a silver charm bracelet that had small Runes on it and four charms attached to it. The charms were a stylized lightning bolt, a stylized flame, a white feather, and a spiral filled with multiple colors.</p><p>"I'm glad you like it Penny." Harry smiled at her. Watching her put it on Harry waited for her to ask what it could do. She knew him well enough after all.</p><p>"I can see you struggling to hold back~" Penny giggled at Harry's eagerness. "What does it do?" Harry beamed at her and Penny couldn't hold back her chuckles.</p><p>"It's made mostly of Sylvuan and a bit of Magical Iron." Harry began and then motioned to the bracelet with a grin. "It also can detect harmful Magic and warn you before you touch it. I got the idea from the bracelet you gave Tonks two Christmases ago. This is a much more powerful and longer-lasting version, hand-crafted with love for you, Fleur, and Tonks." He smiled fondly at Penny while she admired her gift.</p><p>"I love it~" Penny beamed at him while pulling him into a kiss. The two shared a warm lip lock for a bit before they pulled away. Their eyes were filled with love and affection as they rested their foreheads against each other gently. "Even when the warning function fades, it'll still be beautiful to wear. You've outdone yourself, Love."</p><p>"I'll figure out how to make an Artifact version if I need to~" Harry grinned as they held each other close. Penny giggled into his neck as she squeezed him slightly.</p><p>"We still have our date in Hogsmeade to get to." Penny reminded after several minutes of them holding each other.</p><p>"I'm pretty content here." Harry chuckled as he squeezed her closer.</p><p>"I can tell~" Penny teased as she kissed his neck. "But I would like to have that date. When we get back, I <em>might</em> have a little gift of my own for you~"</p><p>"Oh?" Harry pulled back a bit to look his girlfriend in the eyes. "Can I ask what it is?"</p><p>"You'll find out after our date~" Penny purred as she pulled back.</p><p>"How did I end up dating three minxes at the same time?" Harry playfully questioned as he stood up and they headed out of the hidden workshop.</p><p>"Not sure, but aren't you a lucky man~?" Penny teased as they closed the door behind them. Harry took her hand and they headed for the Great Hall so they could be checked off for Hogsmeade.</p><p>"Lucky doesn't begin to cover it~" Harry returned her teasing as he pecked her cheek. Penny glowed with love and affection as she leaned into Harry. The couple made their way into the Great Hall, decorated for the Holiday, and towards the line of students waiting to leave. They made it past Filch and found a carriage. Harry helped Penny into the carriage with a smile and then climbed in after her. They held each other as the carriage made its way down towards the village and enjoyed their closeness. After getting out of the carriage the two happily interlocked their arms and walked into Hogsmeade together.</p><p>They walked the length of the village, doing a little window shopping, before entering Honeydukes on the way back. Harry bought Penny the best Honeydukes had to offer in sweets. While she didn't often show it, the Head Girl did have a small sweet tooth. The couple strolled through the village and popped into Gladrags to look around for a bit. When lunch rolled around Harry and Penny went to the Three Broomsticks to eat. After a warm meal the couple left the pub and headed back towards the carriages. It had been a wonderful few hours and now they were ready to return. The carriage ride back was filled with kisses and the couple indulged a bit.</p><p>In short order Penny and Harry returned to the hidden workshop for some 'alone time' together. The Head Girl transfigured a chair into a plush loveseat for them with a wave of her wand. Harry smiled as he kissed Penny's neck and the blonde shivered in pleasure. Robes were dropped and hands began to explore as lips met.</p><p>"Shirt…" Penny mumbled as she pulled at Harry's shirt. Harry was happy to remove it as fast as his hands could move. Penny smiled as she ran her hands over his bare chest. The blacksmithing Harry did had definitely started showing on his form. Musculature had begun to develop on the Artificer and Penny was happy to explore it. Harry hummed in pleasure as her soft hands trailed up and down his chest.</p><p>"Shirt~" Harry teasingly whispered as he tugged on Penny's jumper. The Head Girl grinned naughtily as she pulled it over her head and let Harry see her bra-clad breasts again.</p><p>"Mmm~ Harry~" Penny moaned lowly as Harry's hands slipped under her bra and found her nipples. The two kissed as they explored each other again. It wasn't long before Penny's bra was off completely and Harry was lavishing attention onto her perky bosom. Harry was surprised when Penny cupped him over his pants, but only encouraged her actions with a groan.</p><p>"Naughty girl~" Harry breathed into the blonde's ear.</p><p>"You love it~" Penny purred back at him. Harry's reply was another deep kiss. Tongues came into play and the couple moaned out their joy at increasing their closeness.</p><p>"Skirt~?" Harry probed as he nibbled her ear gently. Penny hummed in pleasure and with deft hands undid her skirt. The garment was removed and Harry now held Penny in nothing but her panties. The Head girl wasn't idle though.</p><p>"Pants~" Penny kissed his lips and Harry was quick to spell off his shoes and undo his pants. She helped him get the pants off before cupping him over his boxers this time. Likewise, Harry's hands happily explored the newly exposed skin Penny had revealed. The Head Girl gasped as her boyfriend's hands began to fondle and play with her bum. They were completely lost in each other's touch as they furthered their relationship.</p><p>"Penny~!" Harry hissed as Penny began to stroke him over his boxers.</p><p>"Mmm~ Harry~" Penny panted as one of Harry's hands left her bum and began to move over her core and panties. She was so turned on already and the added stimulation was incredible.</p><p>Neither of the two had any real experience with this level of physical intimacy. Both were quick to show it when they reached their peaks together quickly. The two held each other tightly as they trembled in pleasure. Harry fell back against the transfigured loveseat and Penny followed him. Harry wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's waist and pulled her closer. The two cuddled in the afterglow of their moment together.</p><p>"I love you, Penelope Clearwater~" Harry told her as he held the blonde close.</p><p>"I love you too, Harry Potter~" Penny gave him a beautiful smile.</p><p>Their lips met for a soft kiss and Harry used his Magic to pull Penny's robe from the floor and cover them with it. Under their impromptu blanket the couple cuddled and shared soft kisses. Nothing could make this moment of bliss better for them. Penny was sure of her feelings and would happily share her life with Harry. Harry was the same; knowing he'd do anything to keep his Loves happy for the rest of their days together.</p><p>Several minutes later and Penny giggled lightly. Harry raised an eyebrow as he continued to gently run his hand up and down Penny's back. The Head Girl looked up at him with a smile before she spoke.</p><p>"Can I borrow the shower again?" Penny asked with a giggle.</p><p>"Sure," Harry agreed instantly. "Can I join you this time?" He asked with a teasing grin.</p><p>"Nope~!" Penny pecked his lips as she stood up, giving Harry a look at her almost naked body again. Before she gathered her clothes and sauntered off towards the smithy's shower. The sway in her hips was <strong>very much </strong>appreciated by Harry whose eyes followed her bum until the smithy door closed and obscured his view.</p><p>"Tease~" Harry chuckled as he stood up from the transfigured loveseat. He felt the cooled 'release' in his boxers and grimaced. "Definitely need to clean these now." He shook his head as he gathered his clothes up and placed them on his worktable. His eyes glanced over some of the plans and notes he had spread out on the surface. With a proud, if expectant, grin, his eyes read over a word at the top of one of the parchments. The overall Project he was hoping to complete by next School Year.</p><p>
  <em> <strong>Regalia</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <strong>-End Chapter-</strong>
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  <strong>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Well now, Harry's slowly working through his various ideas! He's got new Tools to work with! He's got a trip to plan out with Sirius! Will his theory about Dragon wing bones work out? Also, Harry's a good boyfriend, making Valentine's Day special for his girlfriends, even if they can't spend it together. You know a certain lovely Veela is going to be ever so happy to receive Owls of gifts from her boyfriend! Might finally get some of the boys to back off!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>What is this new Project of Harry's?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>What is 'Regalia'?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Keep reading to find out!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Current Mana Levels</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Harry – 6,352</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Tonks – 7,988</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Penelope – 6,876</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Fleur – 7,244</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0028"><h2>28. Tonks and Fleur</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Time to see what Tonks and Fleur get up to! How do these two spend their time when not with Harry? Tonks is an Auror and Fleur is at Beauxbatons, of course, but what goes on in their daily lives?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Chapter 28 – Tonks and Fleur</strong>
</p><p>Fleur was sitting in the Great Hall of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. It was breakfast time and Valentine’s Day too. The beautiful Veela teen was sighing already. Several boys had already approached her trying to offer gifts in an effort to win her favor. She’d turned them all down, reminding each of them that she had a boyfriend and that their advances weren’t welcomed and wouldn’t be returned. Honestly, she was starting to get very annoyed at having to remind the boys of this fact. She’d had to practically announce it to get most of them to stop trying to woo her. But still, even now, there were more than a few that seemed to think they were better for her.</p><p>It was with a wide smile that she beheld a trio of owls heading her way. The reason for her smile was the beautiful snowy owl leading the other two! Hedwig, and her two helpers, landed in front of Fleur carefully and offered her their parcels. The platinum-blonde smiled brightly at Hedwig as she took the parcel the snowy owl held out to her. Opening the box, Fleur felt her heart skip a beat, she carefully removed the charm bracelet from inside and looked it over. A stylized lightning bolt, a spiral of multiple colors, a white feather, and a stylized flame hung from the bracelet. It was gorgeous and Fleur just knew it was handmade by her boyfriend. With a bright smile, Fleur picked up the letter that was attached and opened it. She knew Harry well enough to know he’d be dying to explain what his gift could do, even in letter form. She giggled as she was proven correct and read over what her bracelet could do, and how it was made. Harry’s love and affection for her was practically pouring out of the words he’d written to her. She couldn’t help the happy sigh that escaped her lips. She held the letter close for a moment before she put her charm bracelet on. It truly was gorgeous, it glinted in the light and the colors of the individual charms gave it presence. Fleur almost felt like she was floating at how happy she was, there was a warmth in her heart that was only being strengthened by her and Harry’s relationship. She relieved the other two owls of their parcels, both of which flew off shortly afterwards. Hedwig stayed with her and happily ate from a saucer Fleur had placed meats on. The other gifts were more ‘standard’ for the holiday; flowers, her favorite <em>Fleur de Lys</em> or Lilies, instead of the more common red roses, as well as chocolates from Honeydukes. Her boyfriend also knew her favorite type of chocolate! Oh, how could she fall even <strong>more </strong>in love with Harry?</p><p>Fleur was so enamored with her love and his gifts that she didn’t pay attention to the whispers of ‘petit ami’ going around the boys in the Great Hall. Many a young man was downtrodden to know that Fleur really was in a relationship. So many fancied her for her beauty and had hoped to woo the teen. Seeing the absolute joy on her face as she accepted the gifts her boyfriend had sent her made several of the teens sigh despondently in acceptance. Quite a few would still try and woo her, far too fallen into her looks and the traces of her Veela Allure that she couldn’t do anything about. But they were only wasting their time; they would come to learn this eventually.</p><p>“Well, aren’t we just <em>glowing </em>this lovely morning?” A teasing lilt came from Fleur’s side as a girl sat next to her. The new arrival was also platinum-blonde and had beautiful blue eyes. She had the same Allure and natural beauty of Fleur as well. This was to be expected though, since this young lady was also a Veela.</p><p>“Yes...” Fleur beamed at her while she looked at Harry’s gifts again. “Good morning Chloe, how are you this wonderful day?” She asked her seventh year friend.</p><p>“Very well,” Chloe smiled at Fleur, she motioned to her neck slightly and Fleur noticed the lovely necklace her friend was wearing. “Julien has spoiled me again.”</p><p>“I can see that.” Fleur giggled as she looked at the lovely necklace inlaid with bright sapphires. “If his family wasn’t so wealthy I’d think he was trying to bankrupt them to dote on you.”</p><p>“He’s a wonderful man.” Chloe smiled as she gently touched her gift. “He knows he doesn’t have to spoil me like this, but he does it every Valentine’s Day, every Birthday, and each Christmas. Wit, humor, charms and he is quite handsome too!” She giggled along with Fleur. “How could I <strong>not </strong>fall for him?”</p><p>“You two are wonderful together.” Fleur agreed with her friend. “I could see that, even when I was only a second year. I’m almost surprised he didn’t just outright propose on your seventeenth birthday.” The two Veela shared beautiful smiles and soft chuckles.</p><p>“I’m fairly certain he’s still terrified of Papa.” Chloe giggled and Fleur broke into a smile again. “He <strong>did </strong>scare my poor Julien when the topic of marriage came up last year.” The two Veela conversed for the rest of breakfast, as was normal for them, while also petting Hedwig. The beautiful owl was admired by many of the girls of Beauxbatons. Ever since Hedwig had first started bringing letters from Harry; many of the girls had wanted to pet the snowy owl. Chloe thought she was magnificent and Hedwig always puffed up at the praise lavished on her.</p><p>-Tonks’ Residence ~ Valentine’s Day-</p><p>“Oh you sweet boy,” Tonks smiled softly at the gifts Harry had sent her. The flowers, her favorite Zinnias, were lovely and vibrant. Mostly purple ones, her favorite color, but with a mix of other colors as well. An assortment of sweets she was fond of from Honeydukes came with them. Finally was the main gift, and as soon as Tonks opened it she beamed with fondness in her, currently purple, eyes. “You’re going to spoil me rotten, Harry.” She grinned as she looked at the lovely charm bracelet. Easily identifying who each charm represented, the flame was Penny, the feather was Fleur, the spiral of colors was for her, and the lightning bolt was for Harry. The Metamorph read the letter that came with and smiled. How could she not? The sweet, sincere words, the love and affection that she could practically feel just by reading them, it was all she could ever ask for from the one she loved. The way he’d explained the magic warning function made her chuckle. She could picture Harry excitedly talking about it and how he’d made her this gift. Tonks put the bracelet on with a warm smile and looked it over happily. “I’m going to have to spoil you on your birthday for this, Harry.”</p><p>Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and Tonks did have to go to work today. Another day of Mad-Eye’s ‘training’ followed by patrolling Knockturn Alley again. What she wouldn’t give for a nice, peaceful patrol of Diagon or Diurn. But her instructor always insisted that those two peaceful alleys weren’t ‘real’ enough. With a shake of her head she stood up, with care she placed her flowers in a glass vase and filled it with some water. Smiling at the bright flowers one more time, Tonks left her room and headed out. Once she left her parent’s house, she stepped outside of the simple warded area around the house and with a turn Apparated to the Ministry.</p><p>Tonks reappeared in the Ministry Apparation point and checked herself over. Her Auror Robes were proper and freshly cleaned, her badge displayed over her left breast. Giving herself a little nod she made her way to the lifts. Finding a mostly empty one she rode it to level two and then headed for the DMLE Offices. She nodded to a few of her coworkers as she headed for Mad-Eye’s office. The Senior Auror would always be waiting for her there in the mornings.</p><p>“Your late, Tonks.” Alastor admonished the Metamorph as she entered his office.</p><p>“I’m five minutes early, Mad-Eye.” Tonks retorted as she rolled her eyes.</p><p>“That means you’re five minutes late.” Alastor grunted as he stood up from his desk.</p><p>“We’re not having this argument again, Mad-Eye; we’re just not.” Tonks waved off her instructor’s ideas of what was punctual versus what she thought was punctual.</p><p>“Kids these days…” Alastor muttered as he hobbled on his fake leg and motioned for her to follow. They left his office and headed for the practice range that was built into the DMLE Offices. Every morning they came here for Alastor to instruct her, and every morning Tonks fought for her continued health! The grizzled, old Auror didn’t know the meaning of ‘take it easy’ and every session of training was practically a no holds-barred duel. He instructed her in mundane stuff, like parchment work, booking, record keeping and the like, only after their daily patrol.</p><p>‘At least I’m not a desk worker.’ Tonks mused internally as she and Alastor arrived at the practice range.</p><p>As always, Alastor didn’t tell her <em>when </em>practice had begun, she’d found out the old man didn’t believe in ‘starting’ training. In his words, ‘You think some Dark Witch or Wizard is going to tell you when they’re going to curse you?’ and Tonks couldn’t really fault him for his thoughts. Alastor’s first spell splashed against the wandless Protego she’d conjured.</p><p>“At least you’ve learned this much.” Alastor growled before he slammed the walking stick he used onto the ground. The shockwave that emitted from it broke her Protego and she had to bat his follow-up spell, from his wand this time, to the side. Her Wandless Magic made her probably the best choice for protégé that Alastor Moody could have found. Considering he was currently the only Auror in the entire DMLE that could use Dual Foci in tandem. Not even Madam Bones could pull that off.</p><p>“I like to think I’ve learned plenty.” Tonks shot back as her hands were in motion. Bright sparks of violet formed above Alastor and rained down on the old man. With a grunt he raised his walking stick and a bright glow emanated from it. A dome of off-white light covered the man and deflected the purple sparks of her ‘Unfeeling Hex’. That was a useful bit of Magic she’d learned from Alastor during her time as his protégé. It removed the sensation of touch from those hit by it. She’d never really understood just how <strong>much</strong> she relied on her sense of touch until she’d suddenly lost it during one of their early training matches.</p><p>While Alastor shielded with his walking stick, his wand was in motion. Tonks expected this though, and with a pushing motion from each of her hands ‘shoved’ the Stunners to either side of her. The red lights moved around the obstruction that she’d made with her mana. The floor and walls behind her were peppered with soot marks from the spells. With a grin she took off in a jog around Alastor. He’d made sure to teach her to use every advantage available to her. He was missing a leg and relied on a prosthetic to walk? She better damn well be making full use of her mobility to flank him! As she ran she conjured water, with an application of her mana, the water lost all heat and froze instantly! She launched her six, thirty centimeter long, icicles at her instructor as she continued to move around him.</p><p>“Is that the best you can do, Junior Auror?” Alastor yelled at her as his walking stick let out a sound similar to a large bell being rung. The icicles shattered into powder long before they got to him. “I’ve taught you better!” With a flick of his wand a long, green light lashed out at her almost like a whip. Tonks had never stopped moving and even still the whip-like spell nearly lashed her. She watched as a few strands of her hair fell to the ground.</p><p>“Damn it, Mad-Eye!” Tonks growled at him. The spell lashed at her again and again as she ducked, dodged, and ran. Then Alastor finished a second spell he’d been casting with his walking stick! The grizzled man slammed the stick into the floor and the tiles that made up the practice range began to flip like they were on an axle! The effect spread from around Alastor in a circular wave and Tonks grimaced as she had to split her focus to avoid the whip-like spell and had to watch her footing to avoid being tripped up by the animated tiles. With a grimace she pulled her own wand and countered the ‘Animation Charm’ on the floor tiles. With her split focus she only managed to deflect the whip, instead of dispelling it like she wanted to.</p><p>“Constant Vigilance!” Alastor barked at his protégé as he yanked up a few tiles from the floor and transfigured them into wolves. The small pack quickly went after the still running Tonks. The Metamorph hissed at the pressure, still having to avoid the whip-like spell while the pack closed in on her. With a few loops of her wand the tiles between her and the transfigured wolves became quicksand. The transfigured beasts quickly became trapped and Tonks had just enough time to dispel the green whip spell before shifting her focus back to the trapped wolves.</p><p>“I’ll show you vigilance.” Tonks muttered as she used her wand to quickly undo the transfigurations, leaving a few stone tiles sitting on the floor, before she shielded against a barrage of spells from both of Alastor’s foci. If it wasn’t for his Magical Eye, and its ability to see through obstructions, she’d have already used a smokescreen or even the Similitudo to distract him with a copy. While maintaining her shield she conjured a few fireballs wandlessly. The orbs of flame rocketed outwards from behind her shield and came at Alastor from multiple directions. The old man had to use one of his foci, the walking stick, to cast another dome shield over himself. With the loss of half of his offense Tonks had enough focus to take the tiles lying on the floor and banish them at Alastor.</p><p>“Now you’re thinking!” Alastor gave his form of encouragement as he stopped his assault to conjure a shield that would block physical objects, since his dome shield only blocked magical attacks. The tiles smashed into the new shield and Alastor flicked his wand to vanish the dust. Tonks smirked as she already had her hands up and framing Alastor between her fingers.</p><p>“Cube!” Tonks cast her own unique, self-created spell. The six square, inverted shields formed around her instructor and locked him inside. Nothing could get out through physical means, and she’d seen how only incredibly focused spells could break it when Harry had used highly pressurized water to cut through it last summer.</p><p>“Well, at least you’re getting better at multi-tasking.” Alastor chuckled. Tonks knew he was buying time to cast a spell that could potentially get him out, so she responded to split his focus.</p><p>“Yeah, you know what the best part about my Cube Spell is?” Tonks grinned as she used her wandless Magic to hold the Cube while she moved her wand into a complex weave of movements. “Nothing gets out, but things can get <strong>in</strong>!” She jabbed her wand forward and the tiles on the floor liquefied before rushing forward in a torrent of what looked like cement! The liquid stone quickly began to fill up the cube as Alastor swung his wand to vanish it as fast as possible.</p><p>“Not bad, lass, not bad at all!” Alastor praised his protégé before the top of his walking stick glowed brightly. With a bang her Cube Spell was dispelled and her liquid stone splattered across the floor. “But I’ve dealt with weirder combinations!” He jabbed his wand forward and a conflagration leapt forward towards the young woman. Tonks wasn’t impressed by the incoming flames though. A simple ‘Flame-Freezing’ Charm and she might as well have been basking in a warm summer breeze. She retaliated with a series of ‘Severing Curses’ and Alastor only laughed as he knocked them away with his wand.</p><p>“Look out below.” Tonks retorted as she slammed her heel into the floor. Alastor felt the floor tremble with his good leg, and only had a second to react. Stone pillars erupted from the floor and the Senior Auror launched himself backwards with a spell from his wand to avoid them. Regaining his footing the old man grinned, his protégé was definitely improving! He hadn’t had a challenge like this since the war! He jabbed each of the stone pillars with the top of his walking stick. A second after they were touched they all detached from the floor and went rocketing towards Tonks!</p><p>“Catch or dodge?” Alastor questioned her and Tonks chose a third option. The stone pillars morphed under the motions of her wand, the transfigured rocks flowed around the Metamorph without coming close to touching her. With a grin she sent her creation forward. A large, snake-like, stone golem gave a roar that sounded like stones grinding against each other as it slithered towards Alastor. While her golem rushed the Senior Auror directly Tonks took off again in a jog to flank him.</p><p>“You should probably dodge!” Tonks threw back at her instructor with a grin as her golem bore down on him. With a twist of her wand she transfigured thick, iron chains by the dozens and sent them forward like a torrent of writhing snakes.</p><p>“Immobulus!” Alastor yelled as he pointed his wand at the golem. The large, stone snake stopped moving. With a motion of his walking stick, he cast a second spell. “Depulso!” The immobilized golem was sent careening towards the incoming wave of chains. The rock snake threw up a huge cloud of dirt and dust as it crashed into the floor and destroyed the transfigured chains.</p><p>Through the dust and debris in the air Alastor’s Magical Eye spotted Tonks on the move. The young woman was launching balls of water into the air. The spheres burst and simulated rain as they soaked the practice range. Alastor took aim and sent a series of Stunners at his protégé. The first two missed as Tonks kept on the move. The third and fourth struck, but bounced off a Protego that had been near invisible until the spells hit it.</p><p>“Chill already, Mad-Eye!” Tonks yelled as she stomped on the ground, casting a spell through her foot on the water covering everything. The soaked practice range was quickly covered in ice. All the water froze in a wave extending outwards from Tonks’ position. Even Alastor’s soaked robes were frozen over and the Senior Auror stilled as his clothes stiffened up.</p><p>“N-Not bad th-there, la-lass.” Alastor’s teeth chattered at the biting cold he was now covered in. “You’re progressing well.” He was back to normal in short order as he cast an overpowered ‘Warming Charm’ on himself, followed by a ‘Drying Charm’ on his clothes.</p><p>“Thank you.” Tonks smiled, pleased with herself and her progress.</p><p>“Senior Auror Moody!” A loud voice yelled and the instructor and protégé turned to the source. There stood a man both were familiar with, Head Auror Rufus Scrimgeour. “What have we told you, time and time again I might add, about destroying the practice range?!”</p><p>“I’m training my protégé, you ladder climber.” Alastor waved the Head Auror off. “We have people to fix this place anyway, it’s their whole job here at the Ministry if you recall.”</p><p>“Who do you think keeps sending in the complaints about you two destroying the range?” Scrimgeour demanded as Alastor and Tonks walked towards the exit that Scrimgeour was standing next to.</p><p>“Tell them to stop whining and do their job!” Alastor growled at the younger man, though not by that many years. “We’re going on patrol!”</p><p>“Alastor!” Scrimgeour yelled at the pair’s backs. “Alastor!” He was summarily ignored. “He’s retiring soon; he’s retiring, just a few more months.” He exhaled heavily as he took in the destroyed and ice covered practice range. He was going to be getting complaints about this, and hearing from Madam Bones when <em>she </em>got the complaints too. “Damn it…”</p><p>-Beauxbatons ~ Dueling Club-</p><p>“Are you sure, Miss Delacour?” The Defense Professor questioned the Veela teen.</p><p>“Yes, they all wish to duel me,” Fleur nodded to her Professor. “I find duels against multiple opponents more challenging.”</p><p>“If Miss Delacour feels she is capable, then she may do so.” Headmistress Maxime nodded to the Defense Professor. The two of them were the ones that watched over the Dueling Club Meetings that took place four times a week. “We’ve see her duel three-on-one before. I’m sure she wouldn’t accept a four-on-one without feeling up to it.”</p><p>“Thank you, Headmistress.” Fleur nodded to the large woman.</p><p>“Very well,” the Defense Professor acquiesced. “Delacour versus Durand, Vincent, Andre, and Bonnet; take your positions!” The five students stood a meter apart, four on one side, while Fleur stood on the other. “Bow,” The Defense Professor instructed and all five students gave proper bows. “You may begin!” In a blink the four students facing Fleur had separated and begun to cast! Fleur wasn’t idle and had already moved backwards a bit to prevent Bonnet from flanking her.</p><p>“Stupefy!” Andre called out as the bright red light left his wand and headed towards Fleur.</p><p>“Incarcerous!” Durand cast from off to her left.</p><p>“Impedimenta!” Bonnet called from her far right.</p><p>Fleur flicked her wand and a dome of blue light covered her form. The three spells vanished as they failed to overpower the shield. Without slowing down she cast again. “Lata Depulso Maxima” Fleur cast, using her in-depth knowledge of Magic to use rare modifiers that most students never learned. A large wave of force left her wand and sent her four opponents stumbling back.</p><p>“Ebublio!” Vincent cast, hoping to trap the Veela. Fleur would have none of it.</p><p>“Finite!” She wiped the Charm away as she moved. “Fumos Tria Maxima!” From the tip of Fleur’s wand an <strong>immense </strong>amount of smoke billowed forth. The rushing cloud of smoke quickly filled the dueling area and blinded all of the duelists. Capitalizing on her cover Fleur conjured her Veela Fire. The orange flames danced in her palm as normal and Fleur smiled. Letting her fire expand she felt it linger in the thick smoke. This was something she only knew from her studies and chats with Madam Aveline.</p><p>Known as Magical Relativism to Magical Scholars, the phenomenon of two different Magics sharing a natural connection, it was advanced knowledge. The phenomenon related to Elemental Magics more than most others. In Fleur’s case she was melding smoke and fire, two intrinsically linked things, to create new effects. In this instance, she was blending them together to create embers and ash. The smoke around her began to change under her Magic. When she felt the change happen Fleur grinned. A bit of her natural Fire Magic and some Transfiguration with her wand saw her masterfully controlling the newly created ashes and embers. Just in time too, as she heard multiple casts of ‘Evanesco’, the Vanishing Charm, to clear away the thick smoke.</p><p>“What in the world?” Bonnet gasped as she looked at Fleur.</p><p>“What kind of spell?” Andre stared dumbfounded at the beautiful teen.</p><p>“How…?” Durand looked confused and shocked by Fleur’s magic.</p><p>Fleur was surrounded by ash and embers, almost like a cloak. But what was really stunning everyone that saw her was the two large, black, angel-like wings of smoldering ash on her back. They glowed with internal heat and even looked like feathered wings! Such complex Magic, cast so quickly, even by a student as advanced as Fleur, was unheard of in their school! Fleur smiled at her opponents, her Defense Professor, and Headmistress Maxime as they all gazed upon her Spellcraft.</p><p>“Avis, Oppungo!” Vincent conjured a small flock of birds and then cast a charm to cause the animals to attack Fleur. The birds flew towards Fleur in a wave, intent on causing her harm and the platinum-haired teen waved her hand towards the incoming birds. Several dozen of her ‘ash feathers’ were launched forward and destroyed the conjured birds. With a flap of her black wings, a gale of burning cinders flew towards her opponents. All four raised Protego shields to block the widespread attack. Fleur kept her wand in her right hand as she subtly moved it to animate her wings. Her left hand conjured flames and launched them at her four adversaries.</p><p>“Aguamenti!” All four teens launched jets of water at the burning Veela. Fleur brought her right wing forward to block the jets of water. Steam erupted from the doused wing and Fleur easily separated the soaked ‘feathers’ from her right wing. A quick flick of her wand had the wet ash formed into pellets the size of golf balls. A swipe and the pellets were fired forward like buckshot. Andre and Durand managed to shield but Bonnet and Vincent let out cries as they were struck. Before they even dropped their shields, both Durand and Andre stared in slowly growing panic as Fleur’s right ‘ash wing’ heated up, bright glowing embers emerging from within, and then reformed all the lost ‘feathers’ from before.</p><p>“Plumes de braise.” Fleur intoned and her animated wings flapped forward. A storm of her black ash feathers, burning with embers, filled her four opponents’ vision. They raised shields to block only to find the feathers fluttering around their Protego Charms and landing on them. The feathers smoldered against their robes, smoke rising from where they touched. With a cry of pain, Vincent swatted a feather off his head. More and more of the burning plumage rained down on the duelists as they tried to repeatedly change the angles of their Shield Charms. No matter where they placed their shields, the feathers would flutter towards them from a different direction. While they were too distracted by her feathers, Fleur cast the spell that would win her the duel. “Lata Expelliarmus Trio Maxima!” A wave of force violently yanked the wands away from each of the four duelists, sending them stumbling and falling to the floor as their hands and arms were almost dragged along by the heavily modified ‘Disarming Hex’.</p><p>“Stop!” The Defense Professor called out. “Durand, Bonnet, Andre, and Vincent have been disarmed! Delacour wins!” The protective ward that separated the dueling area from the rest of the large room dropped and Fleur was quick to wave her wand and vanish her spell and all of its remnants. She kept her head held high and didn’t let anyone see the fact that her breathing was heavy. That spell was a drain on her mana like nothing else. Prolonged use was still a ways away. At best, she could currently use it for maybe five minutes, six if she pushed it. On top of that were the heavily modified Expelliarmus she used to win and the modified Fumos that she needed to use to create her spell in the first place. She estimated that this duel probably cost her at least three thousand Lum of her mana.</p><p>“That was most impressive, Miss Delacour.” Headmistress Maxime congratulated her student.</p><p>“Thank you, Headmistress.” Fleur bowed to the incredibly tall woman.</p><p>“I’ve never seen such a spell in all my days.” Maxime continued with a curious expression. “Wherever did you learn it?”</p><p>“I did not learn it anywhere, Headmistress.” Fleur shook her head, her platinum-blonde locks following her movement. “I created that spell from my knowledge of Magical Theory and a lot of practice.”</p><p>“You created that spell?” Maxime looked stunned at the Veela teen. “Such complex Spellcraft…and you’re so young…” The Headmistress was seemingly having a hard time wrapping her mind around such an accomplishment.</p><p>“I call it Manteau de Cendre.” Fleur spoke up with a smile. “I like a little artistry in my spells. I know it may be considered somewhat vain; but I wanted my spell to really show the pride I hold in my heritage.”</p><p>“It’s a fine name, Miss Delacour.” Maxime assured the teen. “I was merely shocked at how far you’ve come in your time here at Beauxbatons. You do the school proud, and I’m sure you’ll become a very famous witch like many others that have learned in these hallowed halls.”</p><p>“Thank you very much, Headmistress, I’m honored.” Fleur gave a bright smile to the woman.</p><p>“We are proud to have you as a student here, Miss Delacour.” Maxime smiled back at her student and the two parted ways to resume the Dueling Club.</p><p>
  <strong>-End Chapter-</strong>
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  <strong>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-</strong>
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  <strong>Fleur is quite the little Scholar and Spellcrafter herself! She doesn’t even know the Potter Family’s Wandless Magic, yet. Her first spell, the ‘Cinder Cloak’, pays homage to her Veela heritage. It’s also VERY effective for a spell that also focuses on its looks!</strong>
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  <strong>We also got to see a normal day for Tonks! Mad-Eye could REALLY learn to ease up every now and then! You can probably see why her mana is always growing when that’s the morning routine for her! Will she make more spells of her own?</strong>
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  <strong>Will Harry finish his projects in the timeframe that he wants to?</strong>
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  <strong>Will Harry ever delve into Spellcrafting and make his own unique spells?</strong>
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  <strong>Keep reading to find out!</strong>
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  <strong> <span class="u">Current Mana Levels</span> </strong>
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  <strong>Harry – 6,352</strong>
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  <strong>Tonks – 7,988</strong>
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  <strong>Penelope – 6,876</strong>
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  <strong>Fleur – 7,244</strong>
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  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
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<a name="section0029"><h2>29. The Welsh Dragon Reserve</h2></a>
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  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Well, it’s Easter Break for Harry. Sirius and his Godson are making a little trip to the Welsh Dragon Reserve! Harry wants a very specific set of Dragon Bones!</strong>
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  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
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  <strong>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-</strong>
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  <strong>Chapter 29 – The Welsh Dragon Reserve</strong>
</p><p>Harry sat alone in his compartment on the Hogwarts Express. He was headed back to Wood End Cottage for the Easter Break. He’d mirror called Sirius and explained what he wanted to accomplish over the short break. His Godfather had thought the day trip together would be fun and had readily agreed to take Harry. The Dragon Reserve in Wales was home to nearly the entire population of Common Welsh Green Dragons in the world. When the large beasts got too old, or the population in the Reserve too high, they were farmed for the materials they could make; be it Scales, Hide, Bones, Blood, Horns, etc. Harry was very much looking forward to the trip.</p><p>To pass the time on the trip, Harry was reading an advanced book on Arithmancy and Spellcraft. He made notes in a separate journal from all of his others as he read. Looking deeper into Spellcraft was interesting to say the least. He’d seen how Penny and Tonks both crafted their own spells. Fleur had written to him about her own Spellcraft and Harry was very interested to see her Manteau de Cendre whenever they had the chance to meet up again; hopefully soon after school let out for the summer.</p><p>“Interesting…” Harry mumbled as he read over the tome and took notes on the creation of Shield Charms. Tonks’ ‘Cube’ spell made six, inverted, Shield Charms that became a cube when cast. It was a wonderful spell for capture and detainment, very fitting for an Auror. Looking into various types of Shield Charms, Harry was wondering the limits of said protective Magic. There were shields for physical objects, shields for spells and magical effects, and advanced shields that could do both. Harry noted that there were no shields that could be cast and then left for any length of time. He supposed that made some sense though. The Charms were sustained by the caster, without them they faded away. Long term protections without constant maintenance fell under the Branch of Magic that was Warding.</p><p>As he read and made notes an idea began to form in the Artificer’s mind. Taking detailed notes on the formation of shield spells, and the complexity of shields that could block both physical and magical attacks, Harry nodded as he wrote. He stopped writing for a moment to open his Magical Bag and look through it for a specific book he’d brought along. Finding ‘Advanced Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling II’, Harry pulled it out before flipping to a marked page. The chapter in question was <em>Size in Relation to Magic</em>, and Harry quickly pulled the advanced Arithmancy tome close again. It was also open to a marked page, though in this case it was about a specific type of Spellcraft; <em>Construct Magic</em>.</p><p>“This is going to take some time…” Harry grinned to himself in amusement. Really, what project or idea of his <strong>didn’t</strong> take time? But getting his idea noted down should kill most of the train ride back to London.</p><p>When the Hogwarts Express pulled into Platform Nine and Three-Quarters in the late afternoon, bordering on early evening hours, Harry stepped off the train with his Magical Bag slung over his shoulder and a pleased smile on his face. Though he was pleased with getting his spell idea written out; he was a bit less pleased about the fact that the current notes and formulae took up a full thirty-two pages by themselves!</p><p>“Harry!” Sirius exclaimed as he saw his Godson.</p><p>“Sirius!” Harry chuckled as he was pulled into a hug from his Godfather.</p><p>“How’ve you been, you haven’t been working too hard, I hope?” Sirius chuckled as they walked towards the Floo.</p><p>“About normal, articulated metal is still difficult, but I’m progressing.” Harry shrugged as they found an empty Floo Fireplace and grabbed some Floo Powder. In a flash of green flames the duo arrived to Wood End Cottage. Tayla was overjoyed to see Harry again and informed both of them that dinner would be ready in the next hour. Harry and Sirius spent time chatting and catching up in person, rather than through mirror calls.</p><p>“So, any progress on your many projects?” Sirius questioned with a grin. Harry always had something going on and Sirius was amazed that the teen could keep so many things going at the same time.</p><p>“Yes, the Spell Ward Guards are basically done, though until I can make actual gauntlets they’re still prototypes.” Harry informed him. “The Mana Bane Chain works now, but it could definitely use more fine-tuning. The motions of the Control Sequence are still rough and simple. I’m hopeful to finally have a breakthrough with my own Flying Item after our trip tomorrow. I really believe that what’s stalling me is that none of the materials that I’ve been using has any connection to flight. I thought about using feathers of some kind, but Magical Birds aren’t exactly common around Hogwarts. Not to mention that feathers aren’t really suited to being placed into a hot forge.”</p><p>“Always the busy bee, aren’t you, Harry?” Sirius chortled at him. “Are the mirrors still stumping you too?” He asked with a teasing grin.</p><p>“I’ll figure them out eventually!” Harry groused as he thought about his long-term project. He was still trying to figure out the only successful pair of Communication Mirrors that the Marauders had ever made. He’d gone over Lupin’s notes time and time again, but still had nothing to show for it. The Enchanting was all technically correct, the Charms chosen functioned together properly, and the mirrors were just standard, non-magical glass. Harry had run his mind over this problem on dozens upon dozens of occasions already.</p><p>“Take your time, Harry; it’s not like it’s necessary for you to figure it out.” Sirius chuckled at the annoyed look on his Godson’s face.</p><p>“I <strong>will</strong> figure it out though. I’ll make sure of it.” Harry grumbled as he thought about the mystery for a bit longer.</p><p>“Whenever it happens, it happens.” Sirius shrugged nonchalantly. “The Head of the Dragon Reserve was surprised that you wanted to buy directly. Seems they’re not used to selling parts except to wholesalers. But you being who you are, and me being who I am, he agreed without any problem.”</p><p>“Chalk one up for fame and heredity, I guess.” Harry chuckled while Sirius cracked a smile.</p><p>“Master Sirius, Young Master Harry, dinner is being ready now!” Tayla announced with a smile. The wizards headed into the kitchen after the happy House Elf to have a wonderful dinner. They spent the rest of the evening talking and Harry showed Sirius some of his notes, most of which Sirius couldn’t make heads or tails of, as well as his wandless progress with the Patronus Charm. It was still just silver mist without his wand, but Sirius assured him that it was impressive. The two went to bed that night excited for their trip tomorrow.</p><p>-The Next Day ~ Wales Dragon Reserve-</p><p>“Not what I was expecting, but also very much what I was expecting.” Harry mentioned as he and Sirius stood in front of the massive walls that made up the Reserve. The walls <em>felt</em> magical and the air had noticeable small ripples, almost like a heat haze, over the entire walled-in area. Harry believed them to be powerful Wards necessary to keep the giant, fire-breathing beasts from simply flying away.</p><p>“Yeah, this seems about right for Dragons.” Sirius nodded in agreement.</p><p>“Lord Black, Artificer Potter; good to meet you both!” A large, rough-looking Wizard greeted them as he walked through a small door next to the larger gates. Harry estimated the man to be in his late fifties or early sixties, though like most Magicals he didn’t look it. His dark-brown hair lacked any trace of grey yet; his face was likewise free of wrinkles. Harry did notice a few scars on the man, but he worked with Dragons, so that was probably to be expected. With a tiny bit of mana into his glasses, Harry scanned the man’s mana level.</p><p><em>‘8,794. That isn’t bad at all.’</em> Harry thought to himself as he noted the reading his Scouter had picked up.</p><p>“Rhys Hughes, Head of Draig Werrd Reserve.” Rhys offered his hand and Sirius shook it firmly. “Not used to buyers coming up into the mountains to collect their own merchandise.” He laughed heartily. “We usually have to fly it down ourselves.”</p><p>“Harry needs specific bones this time, so he felt it best to come to the professionals directly.” Sirius informed Rhys with a chuckle of his own.</p><p>“Is that right?” Rhys looked at the teen Artificer curiously. “Any particular reason?”</p><p>“The Item I wish to create is meant to achieve flight. Unfortunately I’ve been stymied in my attempts up to now. I believe it’s because I lack materials that have a connection to the act of flight itself. Dragons are often far too heavy to lift themselves with their wings alone from my research. I believe that some of their innate magic is what helps them to fly. That is why I wanted to make sure I collected wing bones specifically.” Harry informed the Head of the Reserve honestly. It made no difference to him if the man knew one of his projects. It wasn’t like Harry was planning to sell them once he’d successfully made them. These would be another item that Harry would keep to himself.</p><p>“Well, I don’t really know anything about Enchanting; most buyers are more interested in the dragons’ blood, organs, and bones for Potions and the like.” Rhys shrugged before a grin was directed at Harry. “But you’re right about their wings. The great beasts wouldn’t be able to get off the ground just by flapping. Some bit of their Magic does indeed help them to fly. But it’s probably not the same bit that lets them breathe fire!” The man chuckled as he motioned for the two of them to follow him.</p><p>The trio entered through the door next to the gate. After passing a set of burly Wizards, security for the Reserve apparently, they went through another set of doors and Harry blinked at the smell. It was…less than pleasant, to say the least. Rhys chuckled at the looks on Sirius and Harry’s faces. They saw what was causing the smell easily enough though. A large dragon, dead and with its hide removed, was being rendered down in a large open space by roughly a dozen people. Barrels of blood were being drained from the large beast, its wings had been removed at the joints on its back, the horns had been removed and its underbelly was opened as organs were being removed and harvested.</p><p>“Well, that’s quite a sight.” Sirius commented and Rhys snorted a laugh.</p><p>“You get used to it.” Rhys shrugged as he watched his staff work. “Ol’ Heliwr there was always a handful. Used to bully the smaller dragons, he did. These last few years his age started catching up with him though. He’ll produce a lot of good material at least.”</p><p>“I notice the wings have been removed.” Harry mentioned, still not used to the smell as his face scrunched up a bit.</p><p>“Aye, when Lord Black gave us a Floo call about what you wanted I had Arwel, one of my senior staff; work on the wings exclusively so they’d be ready.” Rhys motioned for them to follow him again. They went through a large door, similar to a garage door in the Non-Magical World, and saw what they’d come for. Harry marveled at the cleaned bones the older man, much older-looking than Rhys, was working on.</p><p>“Arwel, looks like you’re about done.” Rhys called out and the older Wizard looked up from his work.</p><p>“Yes, yes, just going over the bones to make sure they’re clean.” Arwel waved his boss off. “Membrane, tendons, ligaments, and meat has been sorted and sent to the processors already. All that’s left are these bones now.” The older man motioned to the large collection of wing bones laid out on a raised platform. Harry got a rough count of twenty-six bones, all large because of the size of the Dragon they came from. The amount of material here would surely be enough for him to get his prototype working, he hoped.</p><p>“How much?” Harry questioned and Rhys looked between the teen and Sirius for a moment.</p><p>“Harry, I’ll pay for them.” Sirius stated but Harry shook his head.</p><p>“I appreciate the offer, Sirius, but these are for my own Enchanting, this isn’t to make an Item to sell later once I succeed. You’ll see no return on investment, so I’d rather pay for them myself.” Harry explained and Sirius looked proudly at him. But Harry could still see the desire to pay for the bones in his Godfather’s eyes. The man was nothing if not a doting Godparent.</p><p>“Alright, I get it.” Sirius held up his hands with a grin. Harry chuckled while shaking his head. Sirius would always be Sirius.</p><p>“So, how much for them?” Harry asked again.</p><p>“One-thousand-nine-hundred-ninety-one Galleons, eight Sickles, and fourteen Knuts total.” Rhys stated and Harry blinked at the total. That was a bit more than he expected.</p><p>“I don’t suppose we could haggle?” Harry asked with a chuckle.</p><p>“Afraid not, Artificer Potter.” Rhys shook his head with a grin.</p><p>“Good thing I brought the Mokeskin today.” Harry sighed as he pulled out the pouch. Harry cast a spell with just his voice as he whispered into the pouch. A slightly complex version of the standard Summoning Charm that was simply more specific about what it summoned.</p><p>“Into the trunk over here, if you would, Artificer Potter.” Rhys motioned to a trunk, smaller than the ones that Hogwarts students used, sitting on a table behind Arwel.</p><p>“Of course.” Harry nodded as he stepped over to the opened trunk and pointed his Mokeskin pouch at it. From the pouch a deluge of golden coins poured forth. Harry watched as the coins seemingly always had space to fit inside the trunk. A few moments later the pouch spat out the eight silver Sickles, followed by the fourteen bronze Knuts, into the trunk and Harry put his Mokeskin pouch away.</p><p>“This should only take a minute.” Rhys smiled as he closed the lid of the trunk and then tapped it with his wand. The trunk seemed to vibrate a bit, making a sort of buzzing sound while doing so, and Harry noticed a series of numbers on what would be the latch of a normal trunk. Three letters stood out on the latch; ‘G’, ‘S’, and ‘K’. Next to each letter a number appeared on the metal, changing rapidly next to the ‘G’. The ‘K’ stopped at fourteen, followed by the ‘S’ at eight, after right about a minute the ‘G’ stopped on one-thousand-nine-hundred-ninety-one. “Everything checks out then.” Rhys nodded as he checked the latch. “Arwel, wrap up Artificer Potter’s purchase, please.”</p><p>Arwel nodded as he tapped the platform with his wand three times. Harry watched, delighted at the show of Magic, as thick parchment appeared under the wing bones and folded itself over them. The Artificer had to fight outright laughter as he watched the huge parchment fold itself into the shape of an envelope and then shrink down to until it would have easily been indistinguishable from a regular letter. Arwel summoned the envelope to himself before passing it to Harry. With an amused grin from the show, Harry fished out two Galleons from his robe pocket and handed them to the older man.</p><p>“For your time, your skill, and the show.” Harry chuckled and Arwel chortled as he pocketed the coins.</p><p>“That spell only works once, young man.” Arwel informed Harry. “Once you open the envelope it’ll return to full-size along with the bones inside. You won’t be able to shrink it again like that.”</p><p>“How do you do that?” Harry asked curiously. That would be a very helpful bit of Magic to know how to do.</p><p>“I’m afraid that’s a Trade Secret, Artificer Potter.” Arwel shook his head with a chuckle.</p><p>“Ready to go now, Harry?” Sirius grinned at his Godson.</p><p>“Alright, keep your secrets then.” Harry waved Arwel off with a smile of his own. “Let’s go, Sirius, I think I can get a bit of work done while on my break.”</p><p>“Not if I invite Nym over~!” Sirius teased as they followed behind Rhys, back the way they’d come.</p><p>“I’m going to tell her you said the name.” Harry smirked at his Godfather.</p><p>“I’ll use you as a shield.” Sirius fired back.</p><p>“I’ll hex you if you try.” Harry retorted; a smile on his face as he and Sirius bantered back and forth.</p><p>“Come again, if you ever need more fresh Dragon Bones!” Rhys laughed as he showed them out of the door of the Reserve. These two were a regular comedy act!</p><p>“Sure thing.” Harry nodded to the man. Sirius took hold of Harry’s arm and side-along Apparated them back to Wood End Cottage.</p><p>-Albania-</p><p>Stephen Flint trembled in fear as he watched the seven Wizards he’d ambushed over the last week burn. Each of the men had been drained of their blood. That blood was then used to draw a strange circle around their corpses. Stephen was no Scholar; he couldn’t even begin to identify what type of Magic his Master was using. All the terrified man knew was that it was Dark Magic. The flames roared and crackled, empowered by the red glow coming from the blood circle.</p><p>“Soon…” Voldemort hissed as he watched the flames quickly reduce the Wizards to ash. He glanced at the Potions he’d brewed for this night. Under the Full Moon, his Homunculus body would be completed. April twenty-fifth, nineteen-ninety-four would be the date of his triumphant return to a body capable of wielding Magic! <em>‘Maybe I’ll make it a Holiday when I rule the world?’</em> The Dark Lord mused to himself as he watched the flames rise higher. The Potions had been difficult to brew, stuck as he was in a Squib’s body. Mostly useless except as sacrifices, they couldn’t even brew Potions by themselves. He’d had to expend his own weakened Magic to make sure that the Potions brewed properly.</p><p>Once the empowered flames had died down Voldemort stood up in his current host’s body. Looking into the blackened pit, he saw the shape of a human buried in the soot and ashes. Barely able to sense anything in the Squib’s body, he reached out with his host’s hand and placed it on the form. There! He felt it! Magic existed in this body! It was breathing very shallowly. It was a living homunculus, but empty and devoid of purpose or mind. Just what he’d planned! He spared no thought to the fact that his host’s flesh was being lightly burned as he knelt in the still hot ashes of the fire. He’d be leaving it momentarily anyway.</p><p>Stephen nearly screamed in terror when he saw his Master’s body convulse and shake as if having a fit of some kind. A horrible shrieking wail emerged from the Squib’s mouth as a black smoke-like vapor was expelled. The vapor swirled in the air for a moment before covering the body buried in soot and ash. The Squib dropped backwards and didn’t move. Stephen already knew he was dead. He’d seen what was left of his Master’s ‘hosts’ after he left them for a new one before. The black mist seeped into the newly-created body in the pit. The homunculus gave a jolt before going still again.</p><p>“M-My Lord…?” Stephen stuttered out as he slowly approached the body. He looked over the still buried form and wondered if something had gone wrong. He screamed, half in shock and half in horror, when two dark-red eyes snapped open in the soot. They gave a dim glow for a brief moment before the homunculus slowly sat up. Stephen was reminded of the last time he’d seen his great-grandfather before the man had passed. Feeble, weak, and barley able to get out of bed by himself. Voldemort was much the same at this moment; his new body was weak and unused, practically a newborn, if newborns were one-hundred-eighty centimeters tall.</p><p>“Get out…of my way…fool…” Voldemort hissed out at the terrified man as he took unsteady steps towards his Potions. Just walking was taking a toll on him right now. But his Potions would soon fix that! He just needed to get to them. When he reached the bottles he had to stop for breath. This was why he had never wanted to grow old, to become weak and feeble, to become vulnerable. He steadied his hands before picking up the first Potion in the set he’d brewed. Strengthening Solution would make this body stronger, able to bare the physical toll he’d need to return to his rightful place atop the Magical World.</p><p>Feeling the Solution slowly taking effect, Voldemort reached for the next Potion. Blood Replenishing Potion would increase the bare minimum of blood his current body had. Homunculi were usually made for a specific purpose that they’d fulfill for years or decades. But they all started off weak and with barely functioning bodies. With blood being produced in proper amounts he’d recover faster.</p><p>The next Potion he picked up was the Everlasting Elixir. Downing it he breathed deeply and let it have time to do its work. With the Elixir, his Homunculus body wouldn’t breakdown, a very real concern when making homunculi. Most anyone that made one would have said Elixir on-hand to stabilize and fortify their creation. Feeling more strength in his body, along with his breathing becoming easier, Voldemort smirked viciously. Now it was time to truly bring out all the benefits of this new un-aging body!</p><p>Voldemort chuckled darkly as he downed the Potion of All Potential. This had been the hardest Potion to brew. It had cost him so much of his weakened Magic that he’d almost feared he’d lose possession of his host and be expelled, disappearing into vapor forever. But he’d succeeded! This Potion would unlock the full potential of anyone that drank it. It was known to increase physical strength, improve all bodily functions, and even increase intelligence and Magical Power! It was almost impossible to brew successfully, but he’d studied under Horace Slughorn, the old Professor might be a corpulent suck-up, always trying to expand his connections; but he was a true Master of the Craft. He’d give the old man a quick and painless death for his contributions to Voldemort’s conquest!</p><p>“Flint!” Voldemort snapped at his only servant. The man stumbled forth and bowed, groveled really, at his feet.</p><p>“Y-Yes, My L-Lord?” Stephen dared not even look up from where his head was planted into the dirt.</p><p>“Bring me a robe, now.” Voldemort let out a hiss and Stephen jerked upright as he tried to rush to his feet as fast as possible. With an exhale, Voldemort held himself upright. His new body was stable, but weak, severely so. He would not show an ounce of weakness in front of his servant though, lest the man get any ideas. As he waited he took stock of his form. He had no hair, but he wasn’t a vain man concerned with his looks. His face should be similar to what it had been before that accursed night. He was about the same height as he had been as well. Looking down he noticed his body was lean; much like it had been before, but also looking as if he’d been starved for a long while. He noted with some dark amusement that his genitals were the same as he remembered. Not that they functioned for their sexual purpose anymore.</p><p>That was an ironclad rule of homunculi, they couldn’t procreate. They had no ability to conceive or breed in any fashion. Beings made from Magic couldn’t bring life into the world like natural creatures could. They were sterile, barren, impotent, and had no sexual drive whatsoever. Bah, not like he’d ever had such wants or desires. He would be immortal! What use did he have of consorts, concubines, or heirs? They would all wither away and die, while he stayed alive and ruled the world. No, Lord Voldemort had no need for the base instinct of procreation. Just another pointless thing he’d gladly tossed to the winds in his pursuit of power and domination.</p><p>“Y-Your robe, My Lord.” Stephen uttered out as he held out a black robe to his Master. Voldemort held out his arms, giving an unspoken order to place the garment on him to his shivering servant. Once he was robed, Voldemort walked freely to the small, stone cottage they’d been hiding out in.</p><p>He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so weak. It had been decades since he’d felt so exhausted and low on Magic. He needed food and rest to recover. With time his Magic would recover as well. Speaking of which, he’d need to get a wand once he was a bit stronger. His original Yew and Phoenix Feather wand from Ollivander’s was either locked away, deep inside the Ministry; or had been snapped and burned by one of his many enemies within the Ministry after his fall. No matter, a wand could be replaced; there were dozens of Wand Makers in Europe after all, hundreds throughout the world. But no, he dare not leave Europe, he knew of some of the Magicals that lived in other parts of the world. Until he was back to full strength he couldn’t risk gaining attention like that. He wasn’t the only <em>Dark</em> Wizard in the world. No need to risk anything until he could operate on the same level again.</p><p>“Flint, get me food and drink, I need to eat.” Voldemort hissed at the man.</p><p>“Yes, My Lord!” Stephen bolted out of the small cottage and quickly disappeared with a crack of Apparation.</p><p><em>‘Just a while longer… I will never die… You’ll not vanquish me, Harry Potter!’</em> Voldemort raged silently within his own mind. Prophecy or not, he’d never die! No one would be allowed to stand in his way! His rule was inevitable! It was his Destiny to be the Greatest Wizard that Ever Lived! That was the only Fate <strong>he</strong> believed in!</p><p>
  <strong>-End Chapter-</strong>
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  <strong>Well, dragon bones acquired! Now maybe Harry can get his Flight Item off the ground properly! Not to mention our Artificer is looking at Spellcraft! What kind of spell is he looking to make, exactly?</strong>
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  <strong>Then there’s He-Who-Just-Won’t-Die-Already, finally returning to a proper body. We get to see the Psychopathy of Voldemort a bit as he takes stock of his new form. He’s weak, but now he can actually recover…that’s not great. Though we do get to learn that Voldemort knows of other Dark Wizards outside of Europe! Ones that he doesn’t want to step on the toes of while he’s weakened. Who are these Dark Wizards? Will they cause problems in the future? How much will the World change as the butterfly continues to flap its wings?</strong>
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  <strong>Keep reading to find out!</strong>
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  <strong> <span class="u">Current Mana Levels</span> </strong>
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  <strong>Harry – 6,546</strong>
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  <strong>Tonks – 8,174</strong>
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  <strong>Penelope – 6,992</strong>
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  <strong>Fleur – 7,428</strong>
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  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
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<a name="section0030"><h2>30. Flight, Basilisk Scale Mail</h2></a>
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  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Work, work, work! Harry is a busy boy! Let’s see if he can get his Flight Item off the ground! Also, maybe it’s time to put the best of his new tools to the test?</strong>
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  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
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  <strong>Chapter 30 – Flight, Basilisk Scale Mail</strong>
</p><p>Harry looked into the forge as he used his mana to adjust the heat of the flames. Dragon Carbon Steel would be a first for him; but he was determined to make this work! The Dragon wing bone fragment was already turning black as it sat on top of the billet of Magical Iron. He had to get the flames hot enough to turn the bone to ash before he pulled the billet out. Then with the billet covered in the carbon-rich ash of the bone fragment, he’d start the process of folding the metal and mixing the carbon into the iron. From there it was only a matter of folding and hammering until the carbon was evenly distributed throughout the metal and it became Carbon Steel.</p><p>Penny was not surprised to find Harry in his smithy when she came to get him for lunch. While she’d been attending to her Head Girl responsibilities, Harry had retreated to his workshop to create and craft. Seeing her boyfriend working, his focus on the metal he was hammering into shape, was a reminder of the work ethic she found so attractive. She stood in the doorway for a minute before Harry seemed to notice her.</p><p>“Penny, how’re you this morning? I hope your Head Girl duties went well.” Harry smiled at her warmly.</p><p>“They did,” Penny nodded back with a smile. “But it’s a bit past noon now, Harry.”</p><p>“Already?” Harry blinked as he turned to look at the clock in the corner. Seeing the hour hand at twelve and the minute hand just a bit past one, the Artificer hummed. “How time flies when you’re having fun.”</p><p>“Come on, Harry, time for lunch.” Penny giggled at him. Harry agreed and removed the leather apron he was wearing. He’d needed one as he’d delved more into forging and such. It was already slightly blackened from fire, soot, and oil. Harry felt it gave the garment character; Penny thought he needed to clean it better. Differences of opinion!</p><p>The duo made their way down to lunch together. Entering the Great Hall to the usual chatter, Penny and Harry took seats at the Ravenclaw table. Luna was quick to join them and the small blonde sat on Penny’s opposite side.</p><p>“How’ve you been today, Luna?” Harry asked the spacey girl with a smile.</p><p>“Very well, Harry.” Luna grinned back. “My mana grew again; I’m up to ‘376’ now.”</p><p>“That’s good Luna; you’re growing all the time.” Penny smiled at the younger blonde.”</p><p>“Not bad at all for a Second Year.” Harry agreed with a grin. He was glad the Test Frames he’d donated back in his First Year were still working. With how often they were used, Harry felt Hogwarts would need to purchase new ones by next year probably. While Harry could easily donate another set of four to the school, he’d rather make the sale since he was business partners with the Dwarves.</p><p>Once lunch was over, Harry returned to his workshop. Penny was going to help the Dueling Club again today. The two parted with a gentle kiss. Penny promised to drag him out of the workshop for dinner with a giggle. Harry playfully thanked her with a chuckle before they separated. Back in his smithy, Harry fired up the forge again and grabbed his Basilisk Steel tongs to place the Dragon Carbon Steel back into the re-ignited flames. He needed it hot again to shape the metal plate to the specifications he wanted it. Grabbing his Basilisk Steel hammer he waited for the metal to get red hot again.</p><p>The next few hours were spent in a cycle of heating and hammering. Using the rounded horn of the anvil to curve the metal as he hammered it, Harry formed his creation into shape. The metal responded remarkably well to his newly upgraded anvil and tools. He got more out of each strike of the hammer; the metal seemingly knowing how Harry wanted it to react and shape. When he’d gotten two plates shaped the way he wanted them, he dipped them in the quench tank to harden the steel. When they emerged, steam wafting off of the metal, Harry nodded at his work. He set them on the metal work table to finish cooling. Once they were cool enough, Harry could begin etching the Runic Array into them.</p><p>Etching had long become a proficient skill for Harry. The teen Artificer using his etching tools to imprint his runic sequences into his works. These two plates of Dragon Carbon Steel were no different. Carefully and with precision, Harry etched the Array into the steel. He would forego the strengthening and permanence of these runes with Alchemic Metal Bases for now. He just wanted to make sure the Array worked properly first. If it did, then he’d add Vitris Auri to the runes to strengthen them and make them last longer. Satisfied with his rune work, Harry attached regular leather to the inside curve of the plates. A few strips attached to the leather padding and Harry was able to tie his new prototypes to his shins.</p><p>They looked a bit like shin guards that one might wear while playing sports. But that had been the basic idea. Now he just needed to test them! Applying his mana to the plates he felt the Array activate. If it responded properly to his mana, then this would be similar to flying a broom. With gentle prodding via his intent, Harry slowly rose off the ground a few centimeters and just hovered in place.</p><p>“Step one is a success.” Harry smiled at his new prototypes. The Altitude Sequence hadn’t failed this time! Last time he’d attempted this he’d just kept ascending until he was pressed up against the ceiling. So this was a major improvement already! <em>‘Alright, now let’s go forward a bit, slowly.’</em> Harry thought, pushing his intent to his prototypes. Harry, still hovering, started moving forward. He spread his arms out to maintain his balance as he moved, but other than that, he was in full control of the speed and direction of his hovering flight. “Okay, so far so good, let’s try going a little higher and increasing the speed a bit.” Harry focused and he levitated higher. He stopped at about a meter off the floor and then ‘walked’ through the air with his prototypes. Each step sank down a bit more than he thought, but the prototypes corrected the height a split second after the ‘step’ was completed. Harry was, quite literally, walking on air! The only problem he’d found so far was balance. He had to be very careful not to upset his center of gravity, lest he fall backwards or forwards. He really didn’t want to find out how his prototype would respond to such jarring movement right now!</p><p>This was how Penny found him when she entered the workshop to get Harry for dinner. Her boyfriend, arms spread wide to maintain his balance, was walking around the room. The fact that he was almost three meters off the ground was the interesting part of her discovery. With a giggle she announced her presence to Harry.</p><p>“Penny!” Harry beamed at his girlfriend. “I got them working! It <strong>was</strong> the Flight Aspect that I was missing!”</p><p>“I see that.” Penny smiled warmly at him. “Can you get down or do I need to help you again?” She teased with a raised eyebrow.</p><p>“No, no, I’ve got it.” Harry waved her off with a grin. Penny watched as Harry ‘walked’ down the air like he was on a set of invisible stairs. When he reached the floor he walked over to his work desk. Leaning against the edge, he reached down and unstrapped the prototype from his right leg. Harry removed the left in short order and took both prototypes over to the shelf he kept his projects on. After setting them on a clear space, he made his way to Penny.</p><p>“Ready for dinner?” Penny asked and Harry offered her his arm. She wrapped her arm around his with a smile.</p><p>“I’ve worked up a bit of an appetite.” Harry admitted as they closed the hidden workshop’s door behind them. “Did you have fun at the Dueling Club?”</p><p>“About the same as usual.” Penny shrugged. “Several of the members thought they could take me on at once. Sadly their coordination wasn’t that great. A bit of smoke and some banishers and the group fell apart. Then it was just a matter of stunning them one after another.”</p><p>“By ‘a bit of smoke’ you mean you filled the entire area and they couldn’t see or breathe very well.” Harry remarked, knowing how his girlfriend liked to duel.</p><p>“Like I said, just a bit of smoke.” Penny chuckled and Harry joined her. Oh how he couldn’t wait to get his own original spell up and running. He’d make all three of his girlfriends’ jaws drop when they first saw it! He suppressed his chuckles for now. No need to give Penny any reason to question him.</p><p>The couple spent dinner chatting about Harry’s new prototype. Harry admitting it would need a bit more work to be viable. Penny mentioned he seemed a bit off-balance while using it. Harry had agreed; he was wondering if he could perhaps add a connection that would help his balance. Penny had suggested something like a belt to support his center of gravity. Harry had pondered on the feasibility of her suggestion. It did make some sense after all. His center of gravity was what he had to focus on when using his prototype as it was.</p><p>“That could work,” Harry mused as he thought about it. “Maybe a connection from the Item, up the legs, to the belt, and perhaps add something to support my back too?”</p><p>“I don’t think it would hurt.” Penny looked thoughtful as well, her eyes looking down while she cutely nibbled on the corner of her lower lip. Harry loved watching Penny think like this, it was quite charming in his opinion. “Balance is heavily supported by the cooperation of the legs, center of gravity, and the spine. So supporting all three with the Item should give you the control you’re looking for.”</p><p>“My thoughts as well.” Harry replied, after swallowing a mouthful of food. “I’ll have to find a proper Runic Sequence for the back support. I’m fairly sure I can use the Ever Balance talisman I made for Tonks as a base for the belt to support my center of gravity.” Harry would make sure to write all of this down in his journal after dinner. It was always good to get his girlfriends’ opinions and hear their thoughts on his prototypes and creations. They often came up with good suggestions like this and the joy of just talking with them was always a plus.</p><p>-First Week of May-</p><p>“Thank you Tayla.” Harry smiled brightly at the House Elf.</p><p>“It was being no problem, Young Master Harry.” Tayla bounced happily at the praise. She’d just brought Harry one of the wooden crates containing the Basilisk Scales. It was only a small fraction of the total amount. But Harry didn’t need any more for this.</p><p>“You can return home, Tayla, you’ve done great.” Harry praised and Tayla looked like she might cry from happiness. The House Elf popped away and Harry opened the crate. Just as he’d asked, there was also a roll of the Basilisk’s Hide on top of the scales. Looking over the materials and then turning to look at what he had produced beforehand. The teen Artificer smiled at what he was about to attempt.</p><p><em>‘According to the notes and instructions, this should work. Let’s get to work.’</em> Harry thought to himself as he picked up his Rune-Enhanced Basilisk Steel tools. If he did this properly, well, he might just be breaking yet another record. Igniting the forge he carefully stoked the flames and controlled them with his mana.</p><p>Once the forge was the proper temperature, Harry placed two scales on top of a billet of Basilisk Steel. Sticking the billet into the forge, he watched and waited for the reactions. It took time, but Harry finally saw the scales deform under the heat and partially melt into the billet. Pulling the billet out, Harry took his hammer and chisel to the orange-hot metal and proceeded to make a deep indent at the halfway point. When the metal was nearly split by the chisel, Harry place the tool aside and then took his hammer to the billet. With precise swings he hammered the billet until it folded over itself. With the fold complete, Harry hammered the billet and scales mix back into a uniform piece of metal.</p><p><em>‘Back into the forge and we’ll do it again.’</em> Harry thought as he kept the heat of the flames high. Once the billet was orange-hot again he pulled it out and took the chisel to it again. Folding the billet over itself, he then set about hammering it again. Every strike of the hammer imparted his mana directly into the metal. The conquered materials were responding to their owner’s will and intent. The tools felt like extensions of him as he used them. It was almost as if Harry was working with the materials barehanded. As he worked he thought back on the notes and research he’d done to get to this point.</p><p>Creature Craft, as it related to Artifice, was much different than the traditional style used by regular Enchanters. For creature materials to be used in an Artifact they <strong>had </strong>to be conquered. If they were not properly conquered, an Artifact couldn’t be made. The best you could hope for was a very strong Enchanted Object. The inevitable failure of such a thing could take months, years, or even decades, but it <strong>would</strong> happen. With properly conquered materials though, an Artifact that embodied the aspect of the parts used could be made by one with the proper skill.</p><p>The main difference of Creature Craft Artifice, and the type of Artifice Harry had already been doing, was two-fold. Firstly, so long as you didn’t want to impart any extra Magical Effect or Ability into the Artifact that the materials didn’t cover, there was no need for any Rune work. No Sequences or Arrays were necessary. Secondly, was the symbolism of the materials and the creation process, symbolism had a much greater degree of effect in Creature Craft than in Rune-based Artifice. Harry was making use of that symbology heavily in this first creation.</p><p>He had used Basilisk Bones to make Basilisk Carbon Steel. Then he’d made his tools from said steel, and enhanced them with Runes. Then he’d made more Basilisk Carbon Steel and added the Basilisk’s own scales into the metal. The symbology of reuniting the Basilisk’s Bones with it Scales would impart a far more powerful effect on his creation. Using the tools made with said bones also gave his mana an even greater sync with the Item he was crafting.</p><p><em>‘Okay, that’s the first billet done.’</em> Harry thought to himself as he looked over the cooling metal. To his eyes he could see the Magic coming off the billet. It was thick, heavy with intent, and very strong. So long as he continued to follow that intent, it would easily mold for him as he was its Master. With the first billet finished Harry prepared the second. The creation of enough of these billets could take as long as necessary. He didn’t have to do them all at once. He just needed them to form properly so that he had enough material to work with.</p><p>“What in the world are you up to now, Harry?” Penny questioned from the doorway of the smithy. Watching a shirtless, sweaty Harry wearing nothing but a leather apron and pants swing his hammer onto metal was a visual treat. Her boyfriend was most certainly developing some rather nice musculature. She’d come to get Harry for lunch and found him deeply entranced in his current work. Penny could literally <em>feel</em> the Magic in the air as Harry worked. Each swing of the hammer released a small, barely perceptible pulse to her senses. She imagined that pulse was much stronger for Harry who was in direct contact with it.</p><p>“Creature Craft…” Harry absently replied, his focus still almost entirely on his work.</p><p>“Can you put it on pause for a bit? It’s time for lunch.” Penny reminded him. Harry nodded, though he didn’t turn his head to look at her. A few more swings of the hammer and Harry finished up with the billet he was working on.</p><p>“At this stage I can create in sections.” Harry exhaled as he turned to Penny with a grin. “With the upgrades to my tools, I’ll be able to do the long process in sections as well.”</p><p>“What’re you making this time, boyfriend of mine?” Penny asked curiously while Harry washed himself up a bit in the bathroom and put his shirt back on.</p><p>“That’s a secret, girlfriend of mine.” Harry responded with a chuckle. “Though if I complete it to the specifications I want it to be, I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait.”</p><p>“Well aren’t you being secretive.” Penny teased as they left the workshop. “This isn’t going to end up with you near dead or anything, right?” The tone Penny used when she said this made a slight tremor go up Harry’s spine. There was an easily decipherable warning in that tone and Harry was keen to heed it!</p><p>“Nope,” Harry shook his head. “When I upgraded my tools I made sure to add a very specific function into one of them. I won’t be worrying you three like that again. I promise.” Harry looked her straight in the eyes when he said this. Penny heard the sincerity in his words, and she saw the conviction behind his eyes. Her warm brown and his emerald green gazed into each other and before either of them knew it, their lips had met. They kissed softly for a moment before pulling back with smiles on their lips.</p><p>“Alright then,” Penny rested her forehead against his. “I believe you. Thank you for taking safety precautions.”</p><p>“Of course,” Harry grinned as they enjoyed their closeness. “I didn’t exactly enjoy that last incident myself. But I don’t regret completing Aethereum.”</p><p>“I wouldn’t expect you too.” Penny giggled as they resumed their walk to the Great Hall for lunch. Harry would almost immediately return to the hidden workshop after the meal. Penny had a feeling her boyfriend was going to be <strong>very</strong> attached to his work for the foreseeable future. <em>‘I’ll just have to be ‘distracting’ every now and then so he doesn’t overwork himself again.’</em> The Head Girl thought to herself with a naughty little smile.</p><p>Harry wiped his brow as he finished the last billet. It had taken him just over a week, almost entirely because of classes taking up his time, but he now had enough material to actually start the creation of his newest Item. Honestly, without Penny here next year, he might just skive off classes like Potions. It would be more time in the week to work on what he wanted. The fact that he wouldn’t have to deal with Snape was just a bonus, really.</p><p><em>‘Maybe I <strong>should</strong> look into early graduation.’</em> Harry mused, and not for the first time at that. He’d long since passed up anything that was taught in the Hogwarts Runes or Arithmancy classes. He was far ahead in Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts. His Transfiguration was the best in his year, and probably within the top ten of all the students. He couldn’t care less about Potions, at least not with a man-child like Snape teaching the subject. His Herbology was also highly graded and he was sure that he could, at minimum, pass the O.W.L.s for it. He was sure he’d hear some complaints from his study buddies; but he really didn’t want to hold himself back by taking classes if he didn’t need to for the next four years. <em>‘I’ll stay for one more year, see how things go, if I do four out of seven years I’m sure Sirius will agree to me taking the O.W.L.s early’</em> Harry shook his thoughts away. Right now he had the next step to take in his project. He was going to forge all of these billets together into two solid pieces of metal. Then he’d start hammering them to stretch them out so they could be molded to form!</p><p>-End of May-</p><p>Harry had kept his promise to Penny. While he’d spent a good deal of his free time in the hidden workshop; he’d also not hurt himself in the process of creation. The teen Artificer had gone to his hidden workshop at least three times a day without fail over the last month. Sometimes he was there for hours working; other times he only stayed for a half hour or so. They’d happily had another Hogsmeade date. Penny and Harry ending it in much the same way they did their first one. Letters were exchanged between Harry, Tonks, and Fleur regularly as well. The Head Girl had to admit, when Harry promised them something, he fully committed to it.</p><p>“Okay, Harry, it’s been almost a full month,” Penny gave him a ‘look’ as she followed him into the hidden workshop. “What has you cooped up in here so often? You’re nearly clockwork accurate in how often you come here this past month.”</p><p>“Alright, I guess I can show you.” Harry chuckled as he led her towards the smithy. “It’s actually done now; so I wanted to show it off to you anyway.”</p><p>Harry held the door to the smithy open for Penny. She gave him an appreciative smile as she walked into the smithy. She stopped dead as soon as her foot crossed the threshold and touched the floor. She could have sworn she’d heard a snake-like hiss in her ear! Or maybe it was in her mind? Her perception of Magic had only increased ever since she’d learned Harry’s Wandless Method. She <em>felt</em> the Magic in the air. There was some weight on her senses from it! It was cool, but ready, a sense of being watched and assessed. What was this? Harry took her hand and made her take another step forward. The sensation disappeared like it had never been there! She blinked and turned to face Harry.</p><p>“What was that?” Penny questioned, only now realizing her breathing was slightly heavy. “What did you make?”</p><p>“That.” Harry pointed into the smithy and Penny turned her head. There, on what was obviously a transfigured mannequin, was a partial set of armor. The cuirass, pauldrons, fauld, and tasses, hung on the mannequin. It was sleeker than medieval armor, but clearly based on it. It was probably something that couldn’t be forged without Magic. All of the armor had a dark-black and green hint to the metal. As she walked closer the hint of color seemed to change as the light struck it differently and she noticed a pattern to the metal. Even someone that knew little to nothing about Magic would be able to tell that this armor wasn’t normal.</p><p>“Armor?” Penny mumbled as she looked at Harry’s creation. “Harry… I can <em>feel</em> this with my senses! What did you do? This is like Aethereum, but heavier!”</p><p>“That, if it passes the full inspection, is going to be the first Sgàilean Rìgh Nathair.” Harry smiled at his work.</p><p>“Was that Gaelic?” Penny questioned her boyfriend. She didn’t know Harry knew Gaelic. He’d never mentioned it before.</p><p>“I asked McGonagall for the translation.” Harry grinned at her fondly. “It means ‘Serpent King’s Scales’ as long as I’m pronouncing it correctly, I thought it was a fitting name.”</p><p>“But why Scottish Gaelic for the name?” Penny asked, not seeing the reason for it.</p><p>“Because this was Slytherin’s Basilisk, which lived under Hogwarts, which is a Magical School in <em>Scotland</em>, I conquered it here, so I thought a Scottish Gaelic name would be fitting. I like the connection, basically.” Harry shrugged at her.</p><p>“I didn’t know you were the sentimental type, Harry.” Penny fluttered her eyelashes at him.</p><p>“Only for you three and my creations.” Harry fired back with a grin. Penny winked at him before asking her next question.</p><p>“How did you work that scale pattern into the metal, that seems a bit too ‘artsy’ for you.” Penny motioned to the scale pattern.</p><p>“Believe it or not, that formed naturally when I quenched it.” Harry scratched at his hair. “I think the Creature Craft and the symbolism I used affected the Magic of the armor heavily. It sort of reformed itself to emulate the Basilisk that it used to be. Should be all but spell-proof though, and tougher than any non-magical metal too! I’m calling it Basilisk Scale Mail!”</p><p>“You are <em>such</em> a teenage boy.” Penny laughed, unable to contain her mirth.</p><p>“Oi! It’s a cool name!” Harry huffed at the blonde.</p><p>“Oh, Harry, sometimes I forget that we’re not the same age with how mature you are.” Penny chuckled as she slowly got her laughter under control. “It’s nice to know that you haven’t thrown away your inner child.”</p><p>“Why would I do that?” Harry questioned as he pointed to the armor. “My inner child is what comes up with cool ideas like this!” He smirked at Penny and was pulled into a hug by the, once again, giggling girl. He returned the warm embrace and they pecked each other’s lips gently before they pulled apart.</p><p>“How long did this take to make though?” Penny questioned as she walked around to get a look at the armor from all sides.</p><p>“Around one-hundred-forty-eight hours, maybe one-hundred-fifty total.” Harry looked to be quickly doing the math in his head. “So by comparison to Aethereum, which I did all at once, about twice the length of time in total.”</p><p>“So about six days as compared to three.” Penny nodded in understanding. “Would that make it twice as strong as Aethereum too?”</p><p>“Hmm,” Harry took on a thinking pose as he went over the numbers in his head. “If I take my total mana for the month, factor in that I never went into Magical Exhaustion, then we add the total amount of time I worked on it…” Penny raised her eyebrow as Harry seemed to be running through a combination of Math and Arithmancy in his head. “If Aethereum was around sixteen-thousand, then Sgàilean Rìgh Nathair would probably have an innate mana amount of about thirty-thousand, maybe thirty-one thousand.”</p><p>“That’s crazy, Harry!” Penny gasped at the amount of mana the armor had. “This has to be another Greater Artifact!”</p><p>“I doubt it.” Harry shook his head. When he saw the confused look on Penny’s face he explained. “True Artifacts are graded on four criteria, remember? Function, Effect, Durability, and Power are what determine an Artifact’s Grade. Sgàilean Rìgh Nathair has Function, Durability, and Power down and secured. But it has no Effect, beyond being a very good bit of armor. With a ‘Zero’ on one of the four criteria, it automatically gets only seventy-five percent at best. Meaning it probably only earns the Median Grade.”</p><p>“You’ve really thought about this, haven’t you?” Penny asked with an amused grin.</p><p>“Yeah, I’m an Artificer; I kinda need to know this stuff.” Harry jokingly rolled his eyes.</p><p>“Do you think you’ll be called in to be a Judge for a panel yourself soon?” Penny teased her boyfriend.</p><p>“Not while I’m still in school, probably.” Harry pondered on the possibility. “Though, maybe in the summer they could reach out to me about it? Who knows?”</p><p>“Won’t this armor stop fitting you soon though? You’re in your growth spurt years, Harry.” Penny questioned as she noted the armor’s size.</p><p>“You know how I can do Magical Sewing?” Harry grinned proudly.</p><p>“Yes, the scarf and mittens you made for me still work after all.” Penny nodded, wondering what her boyfriend looked so proud about.</p><p>“Would you believe that you can apply the ‘grow with you’ feature to armor if you change the application method during its creation?” Harry’s grin widened as Penny gaped at him.</p><p>“How?!” Penny moved into his personal space, her curiosity firing on all cylinders. “For cloth it’s Shrinking Charms woven into the fabric that fade away over time. How could you do that to spell-proof armor?”</p><p>“I told you, it’s a different application method.” Harry chortled at Penny’s expression. “I forged excess material into the armor as I made it. Compressing Magical Materials into themselves isn’t as hard as you might think, so long as they’re all the same material, at least.”</p><p>“You never cease to amaze, do you Harry?” Penny chuckled softly, moving her hair behind her ear.</p><p>“I try not to.” Harry nodded faux sagely.</p><p>“But if this is an Artifact, how did you just stop working on it? I thought Artifacts came undone if you didn’t finish them all at once.” Penny looked confused again. “That’s why you had to work on Aethereum so consistently that you hurt yourself, right?”</p><p>“That’s the new function I told you about.” Harry smiled softly at her. He picked up his Rune Enhanced Basilisk Steel hammer and placed it on the anvil, head flat against the metal. Penny looked closer when she noticed the light-blue-ish glow coming from both tools. “When hammer and anvil are like this, whatever material that I’m working on, that is kept between them, maintains a state of stasis for up to twelve hours. It only activates when I let go of the hammer; and I have to charge the hammer and anvil with my mana for this effect to work. That’s why I had to come back here ‘like clockwork’ as you put it. I had to work on the armor a bit, not only because I wanted to, but to reset the timer, so to speak.”</p><p>“That’s brilliant, Harry.” Penny beamed at him before pressing a kiss to his cheek.</p><p>“I’m fairly certain you could apply a similar affect to a Ward Scheme and make a large area have the same property. But seeing as I have no current plans to make any giant Artifacts; I figured this small-scale version would do.” Harry grinned at his girlfriend.</p><p>“Knowing you, Harry, you’ll need to look into Wards like those in the future, I’m sure.” Penny giggled, covering her mouth with her hand to try and prevent full-blown laughter.</p><p>“Maybe I will.” Harry grossed his arms and stuck his nose into the air.</p><p>Penny lost her fight and burst into uproarious laughter. Harry quickly joined her. Being snooty, even pretending, was so not for him!</p><p>
  <strong>-End Chapter-</strong>
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  <strong>Progress!</strong>
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  <strong>Oh shit! Did Harry just do what you think he just did?!</strong>
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  <strong>We got to see the differences between the two Artificing Styles in this chapter! I hope you liked seeing the other way to make an Artifact! Magic is many and varied and we’re still in Hogwarts! Can you imagine what I have planned for this story when we eventually go abroad?!</strong>
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  <strong>The end of Third Year is approaching! What will happen afterwards?</strong>
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  <strong>Keep reading to find out!</strong>
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  <strong> <span class="u">Current Mana Levels</span> </strong>
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  <strong>Harry – 6,698</strong>
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  <strong>Tonks – 8,364</strong>
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  <strong>Penelope – 7,146</strong>
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  <strong>Fleur – 7,572</strong>
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  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
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<a name="section0031"><h2>31. Letters and a Busy Summer</h2></a>
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  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Harry has a busy summer coming up! Penny has graduated too! Letters to write, learning some swordsmanship, finishing up some of his projects, not to mention a certain event that’ll be happening near the end of summer. Busy, busy, busy!</strong>
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  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
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  <strong>Chapter 31 – Letters and a Busy Summer</strong>
</p><p><em>‘…and I’m willing to trade some of my Magic for some of yours.’</em> Harry finished writing the letter he was planning to send to the Owl Post Office in Diagon Alley. He couldn’t use a school owl for this letter, as it would be leaving Britain, which the school owls were trained not to do. He also didn’t want Hedwig gone for so long either, so the Owl Post it was. Folding up the letter and placing it in an envelope, Harry sealed it with a wax seal. Flipping the now sealed envelope over, Harry wrote the address, well the name of where he wanted the letter to go at any rate. Witches and Wizards weren’t exactly into specific addresses for some of their locations. With his letter complete, the teen Artificer headed up to the Hogwarts Owlery to send it. He stayed to watch the school owl fly off towards Diagon before heading down to finish packing.</p><p>“Do you have everything, Harry?” Penny questioned, seeing her boyfriend with only his normal trunk.</p><p>“I had Tayla come and take everything from the workshop here to my smithy at home. So this is all that’s left.” Harry answered as they made their way towards the carriages that would take them to Hogsmeade Station. “How does it feel to graduate?”</p><p>“Good, if a little sad,” Penny smiled as she looked at Hogwarts while they got further from the castle. “I spent seven years here. It’s like leaving a second home.”</p><p>“Makes sense,” Harry nodded as he took her hand. “Next year is going to be boring without you.”</p><p>“I’m sure you’ll be alright.” Penny chuckled as she squeezed his hand gently. “I better not hear about you missing meals and classes to do your own work, Mister.”</p><p>“You won’t be Head Girl anymore, what do you care?” Harry chortled and Penny sighed at him. “I won’t miss meals, but I can’t promise not to skive off Potions.” Harry smirked at the thought of ditching Snape and his attempts to antagonize him.</p><p>“I’ll allow it.” Penny giggled as she leaned against him. Harry leaned against her too and the couple enjoyed the ride to the Hogwarts Express. The train ride back to Kings Cross in London was normal enough. Harry’s study buddies came by to chat for a bit, Penny’s friends and fellow graduates stole Penny for a bit to talk and wish each other well. The rest of the time was Harry and Penny simply relaxing and snuggling with each other. They refrained from getting handsy with each other, in case anyone else came knocking at their compartment.</p><p>A small gathering to celebrate Penny’s graduation had been planned by her family for the next weekend. Harry and Sirius had been invited to the party by Edward at Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Tonks’ and Fleur’s invitations were being mailed out as soon as the Clearwater family got home. Both Harry and Sirius had happily agreed to come and Penny had kissed his cheek before she and Edward left. In a quick Floo trip, Sirius and Harry were back home at Wood End Cottage. The two would spend the rest of the afternoon and evening catching up. Tayla was overjoyed to have Harry back and went all out with dinner that night. Harry went to bed that night with a smile on his face.</p><p>-July Fourth ~ Morning-</p><p>Harry rolled his shoulders a bit as he waited for the swordsmanship instructor that Sirius had hired to teach Harry the basics of using a sword. He’d considered asking the Dwarves, but realized that Humans and Dwarves were simply built differently. Dwarves were shorter, but built sturdy, with dense musculature and therefore would have a different fighting style that would play to their strengths. So a Human instructor would be better for Harry to learn from.</p><p>“Mr. Potter, good to meet you.” A man Harry had never seen before approached with Sirius at his side. He was probably around fifty or so, maybe a bit older, but he certainly didn’t look a day over thirty. Magic was once again showing its ability to extend the longevity of Wizards and Witches. The man had dark-brown hair, cut short, and a neatly trimmed mustache. His eyes were a sharp green and his complexion was slightly darker than normal for British Wizards. He was tan, Harry realized, as if this Wizard spent time outside of Britain fairly often, in a warmer climate with more sun than was normal for the United Kingdom. The man was also wearing fairly casual clothing, a short-sleeved shirt in gray with black trousers and leather boots. “My name is Weldon Rivers, and I’ve been hired by Lord Black to instruct you in the use of the sword.”</p><p>“Nice to meet you, sir.” Harry greeted his instructor with a short bow.</p><p>“If you’re ready we can get right into it?” Weldon asked and Harry nodded. Sirius watched on with a grin as Weldon pulled a small bag form his pocket. The instructor flicked his wand at it and it grew to its proper size. From within the bag, two wooden practice swords, in the shape of a broadsword, were removed. “Here you are, Mr. Potter.” Weldon handed Harry one of the wooden swords and Harry took it. “Show me how you would hold a sword like this.” When Harry held the sword, Weldon looked at his grip unimpressed. With a swipe of his own wooden sword, Harry’s was knocked from the teen’s hands. “We’ll need to start with the very basics.”</p><p>Harry learned quite a bit from his first lesson with Weldon. The man had taught him how to properly hold a sword first. Then he showed him a one-handed grip for the same sword while explaining the different reasons for why a sword needed to be held a certain way. When Harry had left his unoccupied hand off to the side of his torso, Weldon had asked why he was keeping it there.</p><p>“No reason, really,” Harry replied to his instructor. “Isn’t it fine?”</p><p>“If you want to get your left hand cut off, it’s great.” Weldon responded with a shrug and a flat look at his student. Harry had sheepishly shaken his head and Weldon chuckled. “If you’re using a one-handed grip, the free hand should be kept at your waist, your elbow bent. This keeps your hand from being a target. It also keeps your form together, preventing your arm from flailing and becoming a target as well.” Harry nodded as he took the stance to Weldon’s specifications. From there Harry was shown basic swings and blocks, along with footwork. Weldon had him practice these over and over again until their lesson ended two hours after it had begun.</p><p>“Thank you for the lesson, Mr. Rivers.” Harry nodded to the Wizard.</p><p>“I’ll see you on Wednesday morning at the same time, Mr. Potter.” Weldon informed Harry. “We’ll meet every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the duration of your summer break. I dare say we might have you at least competent in that time.” Weldon chuckled before heading off with Sirius to use the Floo.</p><p>With a couple hours left of the morning, Harry went to his smithy and jotted down some new notes. He was still constructing the attachments to his Flight Item at the moment. If he was lucky, he should be able to get the articulated gauntlets made over the summer to finish his Spell Ward Gauntlets and get them out of the prototype stage. Completing the next, and semi-final project, would see Regalia being completed. Well the first incarnation of Regalia, at any rate.</p><p>“Harry!” Fleur’s beautiful voice called out just after lunch. Harry felt a bright smile form as he turned to see his Veela girlfriend. She’d obviously come through the Floo in the living room. Fleur, as always, looked amazing. She was wearing a dark-beige button up shirt and black three-quarter pants, with navy blue shoes with a low-heel. Harry was in his bedroom jotting down notes on his semi-final project when she’d appeared in the doorway.</p><p>“Fleur!” Harry stood from his desk and welcomed her with open arms. The two embraced and held each other close for a bit. “I missed you.” Harry murmured into her ear.</p><p>“I missed you too.” Fleur tightened her hug and kissed his ear. Harry hugged her tighter in return. “I still love my gift.” She smiled beautifully as she pulled back and held up her right hand. On her wrist was the charm bracelet he’d made for her.</p><p>“I’m glad,” Harry smiled fondly at her. “It looks amazing on you, just like everything else.” Fleur pecked his lips for the compliment.</p><p>“Lay down with me?” Fleur requested as she took his hand and pulled him towards his bed. Harry wasn’t about to refuse and the two were soon cuddling after Fleur kicked off her shoes. They lay there just holding each other, sharing the occasional kiss, while murmuring sweet things to each other. Harry had wandlessly closed and locked his door a few moments after they’d gotten into the bed. He didn’t need Sirius thinking this would be the ‘perfect time’ for a prank or something. Even with nothing ‘heavy’ going on, Harry just wanted to lay here with Fleur in his arms without interruption. Fleur seemed to be of the same mind as she held him close.</p><p>“Besides holding each other, did you also come for your first lesson today?” Harry asked softly as his hand slowly moved up and down Fleur’s back. The silver-blonde smiled into his neck and left a kiss there. When she pulled back to look at him a warm smile was on her face.</p><p>“Oui, I’m so glad you three have welcomed me so completely, Mon amour.” Fleur gently rested her forehead against Harry’s.</p><p>“Of course, Fleur, we love you.” Harry replied their gazes meeting as love and affection practically poured from each of them. Fleur always felt her heart flutter when Harry said that. Knowing it wasn’t her Allure causing those words made all the difference for Fleur. She leaned forward and kissed her boyfriend. Harry returned the kiss and the two enjoyed their lip lock for several moments.</p><p>“I’m ready to learn, Harry.” Fleur beamed at him when she released his lips.</p><p>“Then learn you shall, Love.” Harry pecked her forehead gently and Fleur giggled. Her boyfriend was so doting, and she adored him all the more for it. They pulled away from each other and sat across from one another on his bed. “Do you know any Occlumency, Fleur?”</p><p>“Only the beginnings, I haven’t gotten very far yet.” Fleur informed him, she was curious how this Alternate Occlumency was different than what she had started learning.</p><p>“Do you know how to meditate?” Harry questioned and Fleur nodded. It was the most common suggestion to reach the first step of ‘clearing your mind’ in Occlumency. “Start with meditation, but instead of ‘clearing your mind’ focus on Magic.”</p><p>“What type of Magic?” Fleur tilted her head as she asked.</p><p>“Your Magic.” Harry grinned at her. “All you should be focused upon is your Magic, you want it, you’re meditating for it, you’re seeking it, let that be your only drive. No other thoughts or distractions, no other goals, just your Magic.”</p><p>“Alright…” Fleur took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly. She closed her eyes and inhaled. A soft exhale followed and then a lighter inhale. Fleur’s breathing evened out as she slowly centered herself. Seeing Fleur sinking into her meditation, Harry joined her. It had been a little bit since the last time he’d checked on his own Occlumency.</p><p><em>‘Yeah, about the same as last time.’</em> Harry mused as his mind’s eye showed him his Core, surrounded by the thick, steel-like brambles completely. There were no gaps anymore. Taking a moment, Harry changed his perspective to the outside of his defense. The brambles were a complete sphere, as they had been for some time. The sphere was layer upon layer of the brambles, no gaps as the thorny vines entwined and coiled around each other, growing over each layer with more and more brambles. The initial ‘roots’ that had branched off from his Core to his body had grown much thicker. They were also joined by several dozen more such ‘roots’ that extended out in all directions. This natural defense of his mind seemed to only be growing stronger as his mana increased. He’d bet that any Legilimency used on him would have no effect now days. <em>‘Honestly, I wonder if any mental spell would work on me, Tonks, or Penny anymore? With this much defense, would the spells even be able to get through to affect our minds and Magic?’</em></p><p>Harry emerged from his introspection a short time later. Opening his eyes he noticed Fleur still in her meditation. With a soft smile he simply sat and waited for her to finish. Just gazing at his beautiful girlfriends was a favored pastime of his after all. Several minutes later and Fleur’s breathing changed. Her eyes opened a moment later and she blinked a few times.</p><p>“Welcome back,” Harry smiled softly at her. “How’d it go?”</p><p>“I…think I found my Magic, maybe?” Fleur seemed unsure and was looking to Harry for help and explanation.</p><p>“Did you see the little blue-white and purple-black spheres of light?” Harry inquired, knowing that both Tonks and Penny had discovered their own Magic in much the same state as his. “There may also have been some silvery-gray ones that were slightly larger mixed in.”</p><p>“Well…I don’t know why, but all of the spheres of light I saw were the silvery-gray ones.” Fleur told him and Harry’s eyes widened while his eyebrows shot up as high as they would go.</p><p>“All of them?” Harry gaped at his girlfriend slightly.</p><p>“Yes?” Fleur was very confused about her discovery. Harry was puzzled and started thinking. He considered everything he knew from the small sample-size he had to work with. He then compared what he knew with what he knew about Fleur. The most obvious answer, and quite possibly the right one, came to him in short order.</p><p>“Fleur, as a Veela, you have innate wandless abilities with fire Magics, right?” Harry questioned her as he pondered.</p><p>“Oui, all Veela do.” Fleur confirmed and Harry took this confirmation into consideration. After a moment of thought, Harry offered up his best hypothesis.</p><p>“That could very well be the reason.” Harry spoke up and began to lay out his thoughts for her. “Since Veela have that innate wandless ability, it could very well be that their mana is already more balanced than a Witch or Wizard’s is. Where Tonks, Penny, and I had to merge the blue-white and purple-black spheres together to form the silvery-gray ones; it might be that a Veela’s mana exists in that state naturally. If that’s true, you can skip the first merging step and move onto the second merging to create your Core.”</p><p>“I’ll try.” Fleur nodded to Harry. He leaned forward and captured her lips for a gentle kiss.</p><p>“For luck.” Harry smiled at Fleur.</p><p>“Merci, Harry.” Fleur gave him that warm, beautiful smile he adored before she closed her eyes and began to even out her breathing again. Harry was content to sit and wait for Fleur to finish. There wasn’t a single doubt in his mind that she’d form her Core. He knew Fleur, she was brilliant, and she worked hard to understand Magic. If anyone could complete Core Formation with this unknown variable thrown into the mix, Harry would put his money on Fleur.</p><p>Harry sat, waited, and just gazed on Fleur’s beauty for minute after minute. He didn’t worry about the time, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was being here for Fleur when she finished her Core Formation. He knew from experience that she’d be exhausted. She’d probably curl up on the bed and sleep almost immediately. He’d be there to hold her close as she rested and got her energy back from the arduous process.</p><p>A sharp gasp drew Harry’s attention to Fleur’s eyes about an hour after she’d started meditating. His girlfriend’s lovely blue eyes were open and she looked at him with amazement. Then she promptly gained a look of utter exhaustion. Harry pulled her into his arms and lay back on the bed.</p><p>“Tired…” Fleur mumbled as she snuggled closer to Harry and quickly dozed off.</p><p>“That’s about right.” Harry chuckled softly as he held Fleur. With a grin Harry kissed Fleur’s cheek and decided to doze off with her. It would be about two hours later when he was awoken by gentle kisses from his girlfriend. “Welcome back, Love.” He smiled at her.</p><p>“Thank you, Mon amour~” Fleur purred as she claimed his lips again. The two enjoyed a deep kiss for a bit before separating. “I feel different… I’m stronger, maybe?” She looked confused on how to describe having a Core now.</p><p>“Yeah, that’s your Magic syncing up with your body.” Harry explained as Fleur straddled him. “After some time, you can check your Occlumency and tell me what form it takes. Mine is brambles, Tonks’ is water, and Penny’s is metal, I think with your fire alignment your defense might be a literal hellscape of flames.”</p><p>“Possibly,” Fleur giggled even as her hands reached up and began undoing the buttons of her shirt. “Why don’t we celebrate our new betrothal, Mon amour?” With that Fleur opened her shirt to reveal a cute black bra that might have been a little too small on her large bosom.</p><p>“We can do that.” Harry smiled lovingly at her and Fleur giggled as she unhooked her bra and tossed it aside with her shirt. Her large breasts bounced in freedom and Harry quickly trailed his hands up her trim stomach to cup them both. Fleur mewled happily as Harry massaged her and played with her light-pink nipples. She gasped and cooed as Harry took one of them into his mouth and began to pleasure it. She ground into his hips as they explored further into their physical intimacy. It would be another hour before they left Harry’s room.</p><p>Fleur headed home to rest for the rest of the day after their fun. Pants had stayed on, for both of them to stay in control and not go too far. But the skin on skin contact of their chests pressing together as they kissed and held, or just outright groped, each other had been amazing. Sirius had wiggled his eyebrows after Fleur had left and Harry hit him with a Stinging Hex. Sirius had just started laughing while a red-faced Harry made his way out to his smithy until dinner was ready.</p><p>It was the next day when an unknown owl landed at Wood End Cottage. Sirius cast almost a dozen different detection Charms on it before he tried to retrieve it. The owl wouldn’t let him take the letter and held out its leg to Harry. With a nod from Sirius, Harry took hold of the letter and flipped it over. He grinned when he saw the name in the upper left hand corner of the envelope. The teen Artificer opened the letter and set the envelope aside, along with what looked like a small, carved stone. He started reading while Sirius looked on curiously. Leaning forward Sirius read the front of the envelope.</p><p>“Harry, why did you get a letter from Uagadou?” Sirius questioned his godson curiously.</p><p>“The Animagus Method of Europe is asinine, that’s why.” Harry quipped as he read the letter and a bright grin came to his face. “Sirius, can we have a special guest come over in a week or so?”</p><p>“Alright, Mister, what’s going on?” Sirius had a sterner tone than normal as he looked expectantly at Harry. While Sirius was usually the fun-loving Godfather to Harry, he also knew when to be serious and adult with him. Harry willingly handed over the letter to Sirius to let him read it.</p><p>-Letter from Uagadou-</p><p>Dear Artificer Potter,</p><p>It came as quite a surprise for the entire faculty here at Uagadou to receive your letter. We were pleased to receive it, however, and thank you for your kind words about our school.</p><p>Regarding your request to learn the Animagus Transformation from one of our Professors during your break from school. We have asked and Professor Mukisa, one of our Senior Transfiguration Professors, has agreed to your request to; ‘Trade some of Your Magic, for some of Ours’. As you stated in your letter to us.</p><p>If you have capability with Wandless Magic as you indicated in your letter and are not solely reliant on your wand, as most of your European peers are, then you should have little trouble learning the Transformation. On the second parchment Professor Mukisa will outline his request of you in exchange for his instruction. If you accept his terms simply write back to us, place the Messenger Stone in the envelope and seal it. Simply speak the word ‘tuma’ and the letter will reappear in Professor Mukisa’s office here at Uagadou.</p><p>                                                                             Nakutakia mema,</p><p>                                                                                      Babajide Akingbade</p><p>                                                                                      Headmaster, Uagadou</p><p>-End Letter-</p><p>Harry was quick to read over the second parchment with Professor Mukisa’s requested compensation. Harry exhaled, almost snorted, when he saw exactly what he expected on the parchment. It was a single short request for an Artifact to be made for the Professor. He would even provide the main material himself. Honestly it wasn’t a bad deal. If he had the material, Harry could forge out an Artifact, Minor Grade most likely, over the course of a week or two. It was made easier by the type that the Professor wanted.</p><p>“I need to get Sgàilean Rìgh Nathair inspected anyway. I’m damn sure I’ll shock any panel they send if I present <strong>two</strong> Artifacts for inspection at the same time!” Harry chuckled to himself as Sirius put down the letter.</p><p>“What’s this about two Artifacts?” Sirius looked stunned at his godson. “Aethereum nearly killed you, I won’t have you risking your life like that, Harry.”</p><p>“Sirius, I’m going to be honest with you,” Harry spoke politely, his tone calm and almost professional. “I believe my method of Enchanting and Artifice may be intrinsically better than what one can learn from books or the methods that are currently in use. Not only have I not come across any method exactly like it in <strong>any</strong> of my research. I believe it may be completely unknown to anyone else in the world. Not only that, but I’ve also upgraded my tools greatly. All of them are now enhanced with Arrays I devised myself, strengthened by Magical Metals that I transmuted myself, and most of them are forged from Basilisk Carbon Steel that I conquered myself. I’m almost fourteen, Sirius, yet I’ve developed my own style of Enchanting and Artifice already and continue to experiment and improve.”</p><p>“Harry, what are you trying to say?” Sirius looked a mix of proud and confused. He reached out and gently placed his hand on Harry’s shoulder. “You can tell me anything, Harry, you know that.”</p><p>“Sirius, if my armor and this Artifact that Professor Mukisa wants me to make for him are both certified as True Artifacts; that’ll put me at four Artifacts to my name, by age fourteen. Master Trevisan, the Head of Italy’s Enchanter Guild, is older than Dumbledore, has been an Artificer for over ninety years, and only has four True Artifacts to his name. I’m advancing and developing at a terrifying rate because of my method. Yet I feel like if I don’t advance, that something bad will happen. I don’t know where this feeling comes from, but it’s always there, it’s been lingering in the back of my mind since April. I guess I’m worried about the future.” Harry exhaled heavily as he shared a secret he’d kept from everyone for the last few months.</p><p>“Harry,” Sirius pulled his godson into a hug. “No matter what happens, I will always be here, on your side. No matter what may come, you have my support, never forget that.”</p><p>“Thank you, Sirius.” Harry hugged his godfather back and felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders a bit.</p><p>“If you want to learn the Animagus Transformation the Uagadou way, then I completely support you. Let me know when you’d like Professor Mukisa to come and I’ll make sure we have the guest room ready.” Sirius grinned at him.</p><p>“You’re the best, Sirius.” Harry smiled at his godfather.</p><p>“Indeed I am!” Sirius chortled as he ruffled Harry’s hair.</p><p>“Oi!” Harry grimaced as he batted at Sirius hand and tried to straighten his hair a bit.</p><p>“I’ll call Tonks and Penny over for tomorrow,” Sirius mentioned with a teasing grin. “You obviously need some cheering up from this weird feeling. If your lovely ladies can’t do it, then I fear we’ll have to take you St. Mungos for Clinical Paranoia!”</p><p>“I’m not crazy, Sirius!” Harry raised his hands, palms up, while giving Sirius a flat stare.</p><p>“Exactly what a crazy person would say!” Sirius playfully accused.</p><p>“You looking for a hexing, Sirius?” Harry cocked an eyebrow at the older man.</p><p>“You think you can take on a Marauder, godson of mine?” Sirius pulled his wand and gave it a twirled.</p><p>“I <em>know</em> I can!” Harry declared as he sent a Tickling Charm at Sirius. The Marauder promptly batted it away and retaliated with a Jelly-Legs Jinx. Harry snuffed it out with a swipe of his hand.</p><p>“You’ll never defeat Padfoot of the Marauders!” Sirius called dramatically as he leapt away and dashed out of the kitchen.</p><p>“Bet!” Harry yelled as he gave chase.</p><p>Once more Wood End Cottage was filled with laughter and joy as Godfather and Godson playfully tussled. Anyone that didn’t know the situation would instantly think that Sirius and Harry were father and son. It was a heart-warming scene that had Tayla, the only witness, crying happy tears.</p><p>
  <strong>-End Chapter-</strong>
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  <strong>Well now, between learning swordplay, finishing up some projects, learning the Animagus Transformation, crafting another Artifact in exchange for said lessons, and spending time with his Godfather and his girlfriends; I’d say Harry has a pretty busy summer ahead of him!</strong>
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  <strong>That’s not even counting the World Cup near the end of the summer!</strong>
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  <strong>Is Harry correct in that his Enchanting and Artificing style is wholly unique to himself?</strong>
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  <strong>Is his feeling of unease connected to He-Who-Just-Won’t-Die?</strong>
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  <strong>What comes next?</strong>
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  <strong>Keep reading to find out!</strong>
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  <strong> <span class="u">Current Mana Levels</span> </strong>
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  <strong>Harry – 6,754</strong>
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  <strong>Tonks – 8,438</strong>
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  <strong>Penelope – 7,196</strong>
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  <strong>Fleur – 7,622</strong>
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  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
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  </div></div>
<a name="section0032"><h2>32. Animagus and Artifact</h2></a>
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    <p>
  <strong>Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Harry meets Professor Mukisa from Uagadou and starts learning the Animagus Transformation! What kind of Artifact does the Professor want in return?</strong>
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  <strong>So without further delay, please enjoy.</strong>
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  <strong>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-</strong>
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  <strong>Chapter 32 – Animagus and Artifact</strong>
</p><p>Harry grinned, sitting in the living room, as he waited for Sirius to return from the Leaky Cauldron with Professor Mukisa. The man had sent an owl when he’d arrived and just needed Sirius to come and bring him to Wood End Cottage. The teen Artificer was looking forward to learning a much better and faster version of the Animagus Transformation. Not to mention he was eager to see what material the Professor was bringing him to make into an Artifact. All he’d mentioned in the letter was that it was from a certain Magical Creature.</p><p>At the moment Harry was simply going over some of his notes and working out more of his first original spell. Adding effects to a spell, or blending effects together, was tricky business in Spellcraft. Harry was still working out how to integrate the different spells that would make up the base of his own spell. So far he was making slow progress, but while Magic was varied and versatile, a balance did have to be maintained or any spell would fall apart. Thinking about it in those terms, it wasn’t all that different from Enchanting and Artifice. Unfortunately, Harry didn’t possess his own unique method for Spellcraft like he did for Artificing.</p><p>The flames in the fireplace flared green and Sirius emerged from the Floo. He moved aside while smiling at Harry and another man came through. The green flames died down and Harry stood up to meet the man. He was tall, probably around one-hundred-eighty-three centimeters. The man had short black hair, dark skin, and looked rather broad. As their guest waved his hand, the soot from the Floo vanished from his clothes. The top of the outfit appeared to be a cross between a robe and tunic, with multi-colored designs on them that Harry couldn’t even begin to guess the meanings of. The man wore regular pants in a dark-brown color as well. His feet were adorned in leather shoes and he had sharp brown eyes.</p><p>“Greetings, Artificer Potter, I am Professor Mukisa from Uagadou.” Mukisa introduced himself with a slight bow.</p><p>“It’s good to meet you, Professor Mukisa, I’m Harry Potter.” Harry introduced himself with his own slight bow.</p><p>“Let’s get you settled, Professor, then you and Harry can work out your agreement.” Sirius offered and Mukisa agreed. The two men left the living room towards the guest room. Harry had a good feeling about these lessons. He’d be sure to share them with Tonks, Penny, and Fleur. But that did bring up the question of if Veela could become Animagi. That was something else to look into during this busy summer.</p><p>Less than an hour later found Harry and Mukisa speaking in the living room. It was time to finalize their agreement and start their respective work. The two had some tea from Tayla to drink as they chatted and Sirius was sitting in a chair to watch over the deal.</p><p>“You’ll need to brew the required potion yourself, Mr. Potter.” Mukisa explained the first portion of the Uagadou way of learning the Animagus Transformation. “I’ll instruct you in the process, of course, and once it has been correctly brewed we’ll move on to the next step.”</p><p>“Is it a difficult potion to brew, Professor?” Harry questioned the man curiously. He didn’t much care for Potions after all. That was exacerbated further by Snape being the Potions Professor at Hogwarts.</p><p>“The potion is not especially difficult; it merely requires ingredients that are harder to come by in Europe as opposed to Africa. You’ll brew two doses and take one in the morning and one after nightfall. After that, it is merely a matter of letting your animal-self appear to you in your dreams. From there comes the longest part of the process; taking control of the beast and thereby taking on its form at will. Some beasts are more docile, which take the student less time to bring to heel and control. Other beasts will fight you every step of the way and will take much longer to subdue.” Mukisa explained the general process of the Uagadou Animagus Method.</p><p>“That’s still <strong>much</strong> better, and far simpler, than the European version.” Harry chuckled as he briefly went over all the ridiculous steps and requirements of the European version in his head. “I guess I should see the materials you’ve brought for me to use and explain the process of Artifice a bit. It is the payment you’ve asked for from me.”</p><p>“That would be much appreciated, Artificer Potter.” Mukisa smiled as he pulled a Mokeskin pouch out of the inner pocket of his tunic-like robe. Reaching inside the Professor pulled out a long, straight wooden branch. It was rather thick as well, being so large that the Professor could barely get his hand around it. Harry blinked at the large piece of wood. To his eyes the branch had Magic covering it like smoke or mist. Mukisa wasn’t done however; the man then pulled out two crooked horns and placed them on the coffee table next to the branch. To Harry’s surprise Mukisa reached into the Mokeskin pouch again and brought out a bag. When he opened the bag it was revealed to be full of black and white feathers. Both of the crooked horns, as well as the feathers in the bag, all gave off a Magic haze. Harry could easily see that the haze from the items all flowed towards Mukisa, a sure sign that he was the master of all three materials.</p><p>“What have you brought me?” Harry asked as he looked more closely at the three items.</p><p>“The branch of an Ancient Baobab Tree that was planted by my ancestors on the land that would become our family’s to this day. The horns of an Abada, sometimes associated with the Unicorn since their horns act as antidote to most poisons and can also cure most diseases, both Magical and not. Finally, these are the feathers of an Impundulu that attacked the village my family lives in last year.” Mukisa pointed to each material as he identified them for Harry.</p><p>“Hmm, yes, I can create an Artifact with these materials.” Harry nodded while examining one of the crooked horns. “So curing of poisons and disease, a magical branch, and feathers that seem to have an affinity towards electricity, or perhaps lightning?”</p><p>“Yes, an Impundulu is also known as a Lightning Bird. They are vampiric in their feeding and can be controlled through certain Rituals by the traditional witchcraft of South African Tribes like the Pondo, Xhosa, and Zulu. Why one came to attack our village is still unknown. As far as we’re aware we’ve done nothing to warrant such an attack.” Mukisa told the story of the material and how he’d come to acquire it. “I slayed the Impundulu with a whip of fire, the bird’s only known weakness.”</p><p>“It’s a good thing you did,” Harry looked at his soon-to-be Animagus Teacher. “Whether you knew it or not, you entered into a Rite of Conquest with the Impundulu and the Abada, so when you slayed them their bodies were ‘conquered’ by you. All of their Magic remained within them and now it can be crafted into an Artifact. If you had just brought me the horns and feathers after collecting them or buying them, then I wouldn’t have been able to do much more than perhaps make an Enchanted Item for you.”</p><p>“About how long will it take to craft the Artifact?” Mukisa inquired of his newest student.</p><p>“A bit over a week, maybe two?” Harry replied as he took one of the feathers in hand and looked at it more closely.</p><p>“Excellent,” Mukisa chuckled at the timeline. “Then we should have no troubles getting you well on your way to being an Animagi in that time.”</p><p>“Really?” Harry blinked in surprise at the speed that Mukisa was suggesting he could learn the Animagus Transformation.</p><p>“Of course, you didn’t think you’d learn the whole process in a day or something; did you?” Mukisa grinned, a small chortle escaping the tall man.</p><p>“I was expecting it to take longer, honestly.” Harry shook his head. He was pleased that it wouldn’t take up the whole summer at the very least.</p><p>“Not to worry, I’ve brought all the ingredients we need for you to brew the potion for yourself. I’ll be instructing you on its creation and then helping you as much as possible with getting your animal-self under control.” Mukisa informed the teen.</p><p>“Can’t wait.” Harry chuckled and Mukisa joined him along with Sirius.</p><p>So it went that the very next morning Harry was in the kitchen learning to brew the Uagadou Animagus Potion. He made sure to listen closely while also writing down every ingredient, the amounts used, when to add them, the heat required, when to stir the potion, including the number of times and in which direction. Every step was meticulously transcribed so that Harry could share his new knowledge with his girlfriends later.</p><p>“Now, take note of the time, Harry.” Mukisa motioned to the clock in the kitchen. “The last step is to let the potion simmer for twenty four hours. If you take it off the heat before the twenty four hours are up, then the potion will be ruined and you’ll have to start again.” Harry looked at the time, twenty six minutes after eleven in the morning, and noted it down. “Most brewers will leave the potion on the heat for an extra minute or two, just to be on the safe side. This is recommended as the extra minutes will not negatively affect the potion.”</p><p>“Alright,” Harry nodded as he stepped back from the small cauldron and left it to simmer. “I suppose it’s time for me to start holding up my end of our deal.” He motioned for Mukisa to follow him out to the smithy. Once the two were sat inside the workspace, Harry had Mukisa place the three materials down on the worktable. “Now, since the Artifact’s Form isn’t up to me, tell me what you want it to be.”</p><p>“Ideally I’d like a staff, one that can be used as an amplifying focus if possible.” Mukisa laid out his desire for the Artifact.</p><p>“I see, that’s not impossible, though with these materials it would only really amplify Healing Magics and Lightning-based spells. I might be able to work in a tertiary ability based on the materials too, but I’m not one hundred percent sure on that, so I won’t make any promises.” Harry informed his Animagus Teacher.</p><p>“How much amplification are you expecting?” Mukisa questioned, curious as to how strong the Artifact would make said spells.</p><p>“Hmm, based on the materials, I’d expect you to be able to heal most any sickness or poisoning, also injuries shouldn’t be much of a problem as long as they’re not mortal wounds. You might even be able to use a single spell on multiple people with this Artifact as your focus. As for the amplification to Lightning-based spells, those would be more directly proportional to how much innate mana the Artifact holds. Since these materials were all conquered by you, I may be a bit limited as to how much of my Magic I can impart to strengthen the Artifact as I craft it.” Harry informed the man honestly. Artificing for others would always hold a limit in Creature Craft; simply because the materials’ master wasn’t the Artificer.</p><p>“That’s acceptable.” Mukisa agreed and the man’s eyes had a bit of a far off look. It seemed to Harry that he was already planning uses for the Artifact once he had it.</p><p>“Do you want it bound to your Bloodline?” Harry asked the man pointedly. That was another layer of complexity, but one that Harry had experience with.</p><p>“You can do that?” Mukisa looked surprised and Harry simply nodded in response. “Then yes, I’d like to keep this Artifact within my family.”</p><p>“Then at some point during the creation process I’ll need your freely-given blood.” Harry saw Mukisa’s shoulders stiffen at his words and knew it was a hardwired response for most Magicals. Freely-given blood was one of the most powerful mediums to use for all sorts of spells and rituals. It wasn’t something you just handed to anyone, not even people you knew. “It is the only way for me to bind the Artifact to your Bloodline, you are more than welcome to be there when I do so and ensure all of the blood is used or destroyed to your own satisfaction.” He tried to placate the tense Wizard.</p><p>“Very well…” Mukisa exhaled heavily. “I will do so.”</p><p>“Thank you for your trust, Professor.” Harry gave a small bow to the man. “I’ll begin drawing up the plans now if you’d like to relax inside.” Mukisa gave a nod to his student and stood up from his seat. In just a few moments he left the smithy so that Harry could work in peace.</p><p>The next morning, at eleven forty five, Harry portioned out two vials of the Animagus Potion and stoppered one of them. The other he looked at warily. It was thick, had a dark-green color, and didn’t smell good. Mukisa motioned for him to drink it and Harry heard Sirius snicker in the background. With a grimace, Harry upended the vial and drank down the contents. It was bitter, tasted horrible, and Harry forced himself not to wretch. With a deep exhale he set the empty vial aside.</p><p>“Now we wait until nightfall before you drink the second one, Harry.” Mukisa reminded the teen with a smile. Harry gave a half-smile at best in return, prompting both Mukisa and Sirius to laugh.</p><p>Harry returned to his work for the rest of the day while Mukisa and Sirius went out together to ‘see the sights’ for the African Wizard. Harry had the plans for the staff drawn up and was ready to begin the creation process. The first thing he was going to do was make a solid bar of Sylvuan. This would be the core for the staff and what he’d transcribe the majority of the Runes on to enable the staff to function as a focus. Once he formed the bar, then he’d proceed to shape it into a pole. From there the actual transcribing could begin. With his plan set, Harry fired up his forge and gathered some of the ingots of Sylvuan he’d made. Honestly, he was starting to run out of space to store the amount of various ingots he’d already made. He stashed them away, saving them for future projects, shortly after transmuting them. But it was better to have the materials than not, at least in Harry’s opinion anyway.</p><p>That night Harry drank the second round of the Animagus Potion. He, once again, forced himself not to wretch and breathed heavily after drinking it. Mukisa told him that he would probably have a vivid dream about his animal-self tonight and to make sure he remembered as many details as possible. It would all help him on his path to becoming an Animagi. Harry wondered how vivid the dream would be and if he’d be able to remember it. He was usually fifty-fifty on remembering anything about his dreams.</p><p>
  <em>Dark, the smell of a forest, moving along, quick and sure, he was fleet of foot and following the trail his senses had picked up. Without warning he was in the middle of the dark forest. In front of him, hidden by the gloom, was a pair of bright eyes that seemed to glow. He couldn’t make out much more though, the darkness too heavy and obscuring the rest of the creature’s form. There was a strange noise and then a falling sensation.</em>
</p><p>“Huh?!” Harry startled awake and blinked at seeing the sun coming through the windows of his bedroom. “Okay, so when Mukisa said vivid dream he meant <strong>vivid</strong>! “What was that though? A forest, dark as if it was night, but I could navigate easily, what kind of animal was it though?” Unable to piece together exactly what his form could be, Harry got out of bed and headed for breakfast.</p><p>After breakfast Mukisa asked Harry about any dreams he may have had. After relaying what he remembered to his teacher, Harry waited for the man to think. Mukisa looked thoughtful, mulling over Harry’s words and the description of his dream. He had experience with dozens and dozens of students becoming Animagi and was pulling from that experience to try and help Harry figure out his animal form.</p><p>“I’d say it is obvious that your form is a nocturnal, forest-dwelling species.” Mukisa spoke after a few minutes. “I can’t rule out your hypothesis of an Eastern Dragon of some kind, since I’m not entirely familiar with all of the species in that area of the world. I wouldn’t get your hopes up though. There have been no documented cases of a Magical Creature Animagus ever recorded.”</p><p>“I know, but it would be cool to be the first.” Harry grinned and both Sirius and Mukisa laughed at the teen. “What? It would be!” Harry declared, but that just made both men laugh harder. He rolled his eyes as he left to his smithy. He still had work to do for the Artifact. Today was the day he etched the Sylvuan pole with the Runic Array he’d come up with for it.</p><p>The next day, after another night of vivid dreams involving forests and the dark of night, Harry met Weldon for another swordsmanship lesson. Both Mukisa and Sirius watched on as Harry was directed through the motions and instructed on his footwork. The spar, if you could call it that, at the end of practice was a quick showing of how much further Harry had to go. In three strikes the teen had been disarmed and Weldon was telling him what he’d done wrong. Then Harry had to pick up his wooden sword again and start over. The afternoon was spent grinding down the Abada horns to make use of them in the next part of the staff’s creation.</p><p>“Well, I think I can safely say my form isn’t a dragon.” Harry mentioned at breakfast with a small sigh. It would have been cool to be a dragon!</p><p>“Did you have a breakthrough with you dreams?” Mukisa asked his student with a smile.</p><p>“I did,” Harry nodded to his teacher. “I was able to make out a set of pointed ears and what I think is a rather fluffy tail.”</p><p>“Hmm, perhaps a fox, or maybe a wolf?” Mukisa pondered on the pointed ears and fluffy tail that Harry had described.</p><p>The majority of the day was split between Harry’s projects and further processing the powdered Abada horns. Harry was going to mix them into molten Oulm and then use the resulting metal to strengthen and make permanent the Runes he was etching into both the Sylvuan pole and the, currently untouched, Baobab branch. He just had to split the large branch down the middle and then carve the wood to hold the Sylvuan pole. Carving the Runic Array inside and then filling all of the Runes with the Oulm and powdered Abada horn mixture would facilitate the connection and addition of the desired properties from the materials. Once that was done he’d shave down the outside of the branch to a more manageable thickness and then work in the Impundulu feathers for the finishing touches.</p><p>The next morning, Harry received a surprise visit from all three of his girlfriends. They got to meet Mukisa and hear about Harry’s latest dream. It was Tonks’ snickering that drew everyone’s eyes to the Metamorph. When she noticed that everyone was looking at her, Tonks brought her chuckles under control.</p><p>“Something you want to share, Nym?” Harry asked his eldest girlfriend with a raised eyebrow.</p><p>“Maybe~” Tonks teased with a grin. Seeing the looks she was getting, the Metamorph spoke her thoughts. “You’re a raccoon, Harry.”</p><p>“What?” Harry blinked at the sudden blunt statement.</p><p>“How do you figure?” Penny questioned her friend.</p><p>“Do share, Nym.” Fleur tilted her head, a habit she had when she was curious about something.</p><p>“I’ve seen a raccoon before.” Tonks replied with a small smile. “They have them at the zoo my dad took me to as a kid. He was adamant that I know a bit about the Muggle World so that I could blend in better than the majority of Witches and Wizards. What Harry described from his dream is practically identical. Not to mention it fits his personality pretty well.”</p><p>“How is my personality anything like a raccoon’s?” Harry grumbled, but that only made Tonks snicker at him again.</p><p>“Tell me Harry, how many shiny metal things do you have hoarded away in your smithy?” Tonks asked in a faux innocent tone.</p><p>“A good amount, but I need them for future projects.” Harry admitted, suddenly not liking where this conversation was headed.</p><p>“Raccoons are fairly intelligent, like our Harry. They like shiny objects and hoard them, like our Harry. They’re inquisitive and curious, just like Harry. It seems like a perfect fit to me…” Tonks giggled as Harry hung his head in defeat. “Therefore, Harry’s a Trash Panda.”</p><p>“Trash Panda?” Sirius blinked at the unfamiliar term.</p><p>“I heard it from a Yank that came to the Ministry a few weeks back for a talk with old Barty Crouch, the Head of International Cooperation.” Tonks shrugged even as Harry practically pouted next to her. “Apparently it’s a slang term for raccoons over in the States.” She chuckled while wrapping her arm around Harry’s shoulders and pulling him into a hug.</p><p>“So Harry thought he might be a dragon, but he was really a raccoon?” Sirius snorted while Harry was smothered by Tonks and Penny. Fleur held her hand over her mouth to stifle her own giggles.</p><p>“It’s not funny.” Harry mumbled out from where he was trapped between Penny and Tonks.</p><p>“It really is, Harry.” Penny kissed his cheek with a smile. “You can’t get much different than a small mammal and a dragon.”</p><p>“Don’t worry, Harry~” Tonks cooed to her boyfriend. “When you master your Animagus Transformation we’ll all be happy to pet you as a raccoon. You’ll be soft and fluffy then.”</p><p>“Oui, you’ll be very cute, Harry.” Fleur smiled warmly at him.</p><p><em>‘Okay, maybe a small, fluffy animal <strong>isn’t</strong> the worst form to have.’</em> Harry mused internally as he settled into Tonks and Penny’s embrace.</p><p>“Well, if this realization has come to you now, the dream tonight will most likely reveal the true form if you’ve actually figured it out.” Mukisa chuckled lightly. “I’m not familiar with raccoons myself, but I doubt it’ll put up as much fight as a dragon would have. You might very well master your form within the next week or so.”</p><p>“Silver linings and all that.” Harry shrugged, wrapping his arms around Penny and Tonks’ waists and holding them close. Fleur gave a pleasant smile as she plopped herself in Harry’s lap and leaned back into her boyfriend.</p><p>“Hey now, get a room you brats!” Sirius laughed at the foursome. “We have a guest you know.”</p><p>“Maybe we will!” Tonks, maturely, blew a raspberry at Sirius. In short order the four of them had left the room and headed upstairs. It was an afternoon well spent, in Harry’s opinion!</p><p>The dream that night did indeed confirm that Harry’s form was a raccoon. The masked face, the small snout, the ringed-tail, and the grey fur were all easily recognizable after Harry had seen a picture of the animal. It wasn’t overly helpful, or powerful, but Harry didn’t mind. He wanted to experiment and see if he could still use Magic while transformed. He didn’t need a wand after all, so what would be stopping him? With his form discovered, Mukisa moved on to helping Harry feel his animal form within. To start drawing on the animal and taking on its form. The raccoon was not exactly helpful with this. The animal’s skittish and suspicious nature showing through in the Magic that Harry was trying to perform. The progress would be slow and steady by Mukisa’s judgement. But it would still be faster than most that had larger, predatory animals as their form.</p><p>A few days later and Harry had Mukisa standing off to the side as he prepared to finish the man’s staff in one long stretch of work. He had all of the materials prepared; now he just needed Mukisa to add his freely-given blood to the Oulm and Abada horn mixture. The tall man nodded to his student and proceeded to slice his palm over the vessel holding the mixture. Harry motioned for him to stop after a few moments and Mukisa healed his palm with several waves of his opposite hand. Only a red line remained after the Professor was done healing himself.</p><p>Harry mixed the blood into the Oulm and Abada horn compound and when it was settled he began. The Runic Arrays on the Sylvuan pole and the inside of the carved out Baobab branch were filled with the new compound. Once the rune work was done, Harry brought the two halves of the branch together again and sealed them with Magic. Next came the most time-consuming part. The teen Artificer began to shave down the thick branch into a proper staff. Mukisa watched on as the teen worked. It was an amazing sight to witness as Harry devoted all of himself and his focus to the act of creation. More and more of the wood was removed, the former branch now shaping into a smooth and refined form. Hours later and Harry looked over his work. The staff was formed and straight, the body smooth and comfortable in hand. One end of the staff was larger and rounded and Mukisa correctly assumed that it would be the head of the staff.</p><p>“Woo~” Harry exhaled as he walked over to the worktable that had the bag of Impundulu feathers on it.</p><p>Harry set the staff down and then proceeded to add small holes all over the rounded head of the staff with a tool that looked like a small icepick and a tiny hammer. When Harry seemed satisfied with the number he took one of the black and white feathers and stuck the calamus of the feather into one of the many tiny holes. A whisper from the Artificer and the feather became a part of the staff forevermore. Mukisa lost track of time as he watched Harry work. Feather after feather added to the head of the staff. It almost looked like a broom when Harry was halfway through the bag. When Harry ran out of the holes he’d made but still had some feathers left, he picked up the two small tools and made more holes. When the last feather was added and Harry whispered again, the teen tapped the head of the staff with his right index finger. Then he tapped the staff along the length, when he got to the base of the staff and tapped it Mukisa gasped. A force was in the air. It was familiar, he knew this feeling, and it was welcoming.</p><p>Harry smiled at his work proudly and turned to the Artifact’s master. He chuckled lightly as he saw the entranced look on his Animagus teacher’s face. No doubt the man felt the exact moment his staff had been finished and solidified as a single object. Waving his hand to get Mukisa’s attention, Harry held out the finished Artifact to him. Mukisa walked forward and took the staff into his hands. A connection immediately formed and a smile made its way onto his face reflexively.</p><p>“What will you call it?” Harry questioned softly as Mukisa ran his hands along the Artifact gently.</p><p>“Umvikeli Wempilo, the Life Protector.” Mukisa smiled at the staff, the head covered in the black and white feathers made a sharp contrast to the brown of the wood.</p><p>“A fine name.” Harry agreed with a smile. “I was also able to add the tertiary ability I mentioned. You like flying?”</p><p>“It can fly?” Mukisa blinked at Harry, the man seemed dumbfounded.</p><p>“Yep,” Harry chuckled as he stood up and stretched, small pops were heard as he moved compleltely for the first time in hours. “As its’ master, it’ll respond to you better than any broom could ever hope to. It’s speed is only limited by how much mana you give it. Let me go get Sirius’ broom and I’ll join you for a flight.”</p><p>In short order Mukisa, a grown man of fifty-four years of age, was whooping like a child as he flew through the air above Wood End Cottage. Even sitting sideways on the staff he had no fear of falling as he zipped around and made sharp turns. The staff would not let its’ master fall from it. Harry followed along as best as Sirius’ older broom could. There was a bright smile on his face at seeing Mukisa’s joy. It was always nice to have your work so well-recieved. Not to mention he now had <strong>two</strong> Artifacts to have inspected by a panel of his peers! Wouldn’t that be fun! He should get that scheduled with Sirius soon. But for now, he’d enjoy the freedom of flight.</p><p>
  <strong>-End Chapter-</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Harry’s a Trash Panda!!! <em>*Cackles*</em></strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Animagus is well on its way! Not to mention Harry has completed Mukisa’s Artifact! Now he has two for a panel to judge! He’s going to blow the minds of the entire Enchanter and Artificer community!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>How strong is Mukisa’s Staff? Harry couldn’t put all of his power into materials that he wasn’t the master of. </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>His other projects are still coming along as well! What’s the semi-final project he’s been working on in secret?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>What is Voldemort up to?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>What will happen next?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Keep reading to find out!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong> <span class="u">Current Mana Levels</span> </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Harry – 6,938</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Tonks – 8,694</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Penelope – 7,412</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Fleur – 7,756</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Until I get your reviews, later!</strong>
</p>
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